


Highschool DxD; Something Wicked This Way Comes

by Raptorianator



Category: Highschool DxD (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cameos, Canon-Typical Violence, Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Character, Get in losers We're fucking up the Canon, Lesbian Character, Literary References & Allusions, May contain smut in later chapters, Memes, Multi, Mythology References, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Partial Nudity, Polyamory, References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, References to Depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:49:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26000674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raptorianator/pseuds/Raptorianator
Summary: The wedding between the House of Gremory and the House of Phenex needed to be secure. Riser decided to risk his reputation and made a deal with a powerful being to make his wedding certain in exchange for its freedom. Now that he has the power he wants, Riser now plans to betray this being, however in anticipation of this, it made  a plan. A vessel was chosen, to be sent into the service of Gremory, to free it from its prison, take its revenge on Riser Phenex, and remind those who remember...the power of the Void.
Relationships: Asia Argento (Highschool DxD)/Original Character(s), Himejima Akeno/Original Character(s), Hyoudou Issei/Original Female Character(s), Hyoudou Issei/Shidou Irina, Minor or Background Relationship(s), OC/Harem, Original Character(s)/Original Character(s), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Ravel Phenex/Original Character(s), Rias Gremory/Original Character(s), Sirzechs Lucifer/Grayfia Lucifuge, Toujou Koneko/Original Character(s), Venelana Gremory/Zeoticus Gremory, Xenovia Quarta/Original Character(s)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 18





	1. Of Demons and Daniels

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, dear readers, to the end result of a hyper-focused mental fantasy that I actually decided to write down for once. If you expect high-quality, tasteful writing then look elsewhere. We have memes, edgy dialogue and Totally Fair and Balanced abilities (no we don't). 
> 
> Ok, self-deprecating humor aside, this will not be everyone's fancy. Feel free to let me know what on earth you thought of this, this is my first story so I'll be very much interactive when I can. Also things may get edited based on reader suggestions for general writing improvement and my own personal feelings so if something sounds different don't go complaining about it. No shame in fixing mistakes.

Riser was getting impatient. If it did not cease its waiting and act now, the window of opportunity for its freedom would be gone. In the shade of the afternoon, hidden between the two buildings, it waited. Footsteps and humming herald the arrival of its target. A faint, minuscule scent of dried blood made it recoil. The wielder of the Red Dragon Emperor, a teenage pervert with enough brains to fill a teaspoon. Pitiful, it was a service to the female mortals here to rid of this pest. Quietly, it readied the bait to be taken, a bait its target could not resist.

Issei was having a good day. Despite being caught by the Kendo Club while peeping on their fruiting bodies, he was able to escape with only minor bruises. Plus, a girl actually asked him out for once! And it was a hottie as well! He could barely keep a straight face as he walked home. A noise caught his attention, in the alley he was approaching. 

“P-please! S-someone help me....” A girl’s voice, clearly in distress, sobbing and sniffling. He turned the corner with worry, she must be hurt. 

“Hey, who’s that, do you ne- WOAH!” Issei spoke before going bug-eyed. There was a girl, clearly homeless, clothed in only tattered rags, sporting a generous bust and a twisted leg. She was crying, slumped on the floor in a crumpled heap. Shaking his head, he walked further into the alley slowly, trying not to scare the girl. Even as he went to comfort her, his thoughts ran wild. _(Score! A hot babe to save with some fine breasts, I already know how this one ends!)_

Soon after Issei disappeared from view, the crying stopped. Soon came the sound of splitting flesh and horrified screams of pain, before dying off into a choked wheeze and fading to silence. Anyone who looked into the alley would only see a splattering of fresh blood and a torn makeshift dress on the floor.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Riser sat at his desk, flipping through photo after photo. His harem recently held a photo-shoot, and he was looking at the results of that, every girl in some form of skimpy bikini. He smiled to himself, this never got old for him, he was on top of the world. Well, almost, not until he got that ring around Rias’s finger. Ravel sat nearby, flipping through some magazine talking about the latest underworld news. A knock came at the door. 

“Come in…” Riser said, unsure of who could be bothering him at this time. His smile faded to a straight line as a massive shadow of a being stepped in. They were nearly double his height, shaded black with dark clothing, a pair of red, pupiless eyes glaring down at the devil as if it were a bug. Riser cleared his throat and spoke. “Riser assumes this is about the contract” He said, pretending to be unafraid of the terrible shadow before him. It simply reached into the void of its cloak and pulled out a crimson orb that swirled with powerful magic. Riser grinned. “You really did it, you got the Boosted Gear.” He said, looking impressed at the thing before him. “And the user?”

“ **Dead** ” It responded, a low, powerful voice that made the two Phenexes shiver in fear. 

“Ah, very good, now come on! Give it to Riser!” Riser begged with a child asking for its toy. The creature let the orb float into the center of Riser’s chest. The devil took a deep breath and summoned a red gauntlet styled after a dragon onto his arm. He flexed his new appendage and grinned at the creature. “You may leave, Riser will be sure to pay you back soon”. The creature nodded and left the room, the door shutting behind it on its own. Riser let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, unsummoning the Boosted Gear. 

“What a horrible thing, why did you ever agree to work with that monster” Ravel said with disgust, looking at where it came in. 

“Simple, darling. With the Boosted Gear in my hand and Rias at my side, it won’t be able to defeat me if I ever let it go” 

Ravel blinked “If? You’re not going to fulfill its request?”

“Like it can do anything about it” Riser said with a smug grin. He knew that as long as it was kept locked in that chest, it could do no real harm. Well, so he thought...  
\-------------------------------------------------------  
Daniel Retsalreve was bored to say the least. Despite his interest in the class subject, somehow the teacher they assigned was absolutely soul draining. A quick glance around the room told him that he was not alone in this regard. He sighed and looked into space, his mind wandering off into its own world. He was soon shaken out by the sound of the bell ringing, signalling that lunch was starting. Quickly, he packed away his stuff and began making his way out the door. Stepping into the hallway he began walking to his usual eating spot when a voice called out to him. 

“Ah! Daniel-san! Want to have lunch at the club again?” Daniel turned and smiled to the voice’s owner, a tall blonde boy that was turning heads. He swore he could see a couple girls on the verge of fainting. It was Yuuto Kiba, the school’s heartthrob, and Daniel’s only male friend in the school. Most of the other boys were either not interesting, too judgmental or too perverted to be friends with. Yuuto flashed him a smile that could stop traffic and beckoned Daniel to him. Daniel walked to him and waved.

“Kiba-san, nice to see you pal!” The two walked together down the hall, Daniel getting red from the very not secret whisperings.

“Omg, who's that with Kiba senpai?” 

“Are they friends, I don’t even know the guy!” 

“Probably leeching off his fame” 

“He’s going red, are they dating? That would be so kawaii!”. 

He grumbled and looked downward, hating this attention. Such was the daily routine of hanging out with Kiba it seemed. Even though they’ve been friends for a while, people still didn’t get over it. The juxtaposition between Kiba, someone who drew in eyes and fit well visually into the school and Daniel, an American by birth with uncommonly dark brown hair and eyes, along with a more stocky, well-fed frame and less fair skin, made him standout more than he usually would. _(Please for the love of god stop staring, I’m just walking. Why did I agree to this, I just wanted lunch)_ He thought to himself. Kiba noticed his expression and gave the forming crowd a look of sheer disappointment. That fortunately did the trick and the students scattered. The pair struck up conversation as they walked, Daniel discussing the latest paleo-finds in recent news to a bright-eyed Kiba, who had recently joined in his obsession with paleontology. They soon reached the Occult Research Club’s clubhouse, an old section of the school that was converted by the club to a sort of pseudo-living space. Kiba opened the door and let Daniel walk in first, the gentleman.

A couple hellos rang out as he stepped inside. To his left on the couch was Miss Koneko Toujou, a petite, stoic girl with a massive sweet tooth. She simply deadpanned a ‘hi’ and returned to the more important task of finishing a chocolate bar. To Daniel’s right was Miss Akeno Himejima, a dark-haired stunner who was the head-turner among the male population at Kuoh. She waved to him and giggled. 

“Ara Ara, come to visit us again Daniel-san?” Her voice was heavy with flirtation, giving him a seductive look. 

“Hello Miss Toujou, Hello Miss Himejima. Please, you know that seduction doesn’t work well on me” Daniel said, shrugging off the flirt attempt as he moved to sit down on the couch near Koneko. He set down his backpack and opened it to take out a simple PB&J sandwich with chips and water, along with a cookie he tossed to Koneko. “Mom made an extra for you, have it” He said, before preparing to dig into his lunch. The white-haired girl kept her blank expression but accepted the cookie without incident. “So, where’s Miss Gremory?” He asked between bites of his food. 

“She’s taking a shower, P.E was rough today apparently.” Kiba responded, taking a seat on the other couch next to Akeno. 

“I still can’t believe you guys have a shower in here. School is the last place I’d do something like that, honestly.” Daniel said, taking another bite. 

“Well, we could always shower at your place, Daniel~” Akeno said with implication. 

“Like that’s ever gonna happen. I told you that doesn’t work on me.” Akeno pouted and huffed, crossing her arms. _(Sheesh, he’s probably the only guy I’ve met besides Kiba that can actually handle my teasing. I wish he’d humor me just once)_ She thought to herself. Daniel gave her a grin, before feeling a delicate hand ruffling his hair. 

“Oh, Miss Gremory, nice to see you again” He said, turning to face the Club President, Rias Gremory. She was an incredibly beautiful and buxom lady with crimson hair, the want of many boys in the academy. She giggled, putting a hand over her mouth. 

“Nice to see you as well, Daniel-san. So, had a good day so far?”

“Yeah, people still keep making me uncomfortable when hanging with you guys, but you know.”

“I’m telling you, let me take care of it. I don’t want you to feel like that at school, we’re friends after all”

Daniel gave her a smile. “I know, I know. It’s ok, I don’t want to bother you with that.

“Daniel-san, it’s not a bother, trust me!”

Koneko spoke up, surprisingly. “If he says he’s fine, he’s fine. We shouldn’t push him”

Everyone looked at her with surprise. She simply continued eating her chocolate, acting as if she said nothing at all. Kiba finally broke the silence.

“Well, I guess she’s right. Let's just drop the topic and move on” He said. “So...besides that, how have you been Daniel-san?”

“Good, actually. My amazon order finally arrived, so now I got some Lego sets to build up”

“Invite me over sometime so we can make them together, Daniel-san~”

“I will, but keep the flirting low, last thing I need is for sis to bug me about having a girlfriend and blab about it to half of Kuoh.”

The conversation continued through lunch, the group chatting and sharing their recent experiences. Soon, however, the lunch bell rang, and the ORC members and Daniel left to head back to class. Rias waved them goodbye, waiting until the room was empty before taking a seat on one of the couches and sighing. A small bat-like creature appeared next to her, hovering in the air and giving her a worried look. She turned to it. “I know it seems like I’m paranoid but...I’m just worried for them. That murder was no coincidence, the guy had some form of gear. Someone is clearly targeting gear users…” The bat tilted its head, as if asking a question. “...I know that Daniel doesn’t have a sacred gear that I know of but his family have magic in them. I don’t want him to get hurt, nor any of the others…” The bat nodded and gave her a small hug before disappearing, leaving Rias alone with her thoughts and concerns...  
\---------------------------------------------------------  
School quickly blew by the rest of the day, and Daniel was walking home, taking the route that led him through the bridge over the road. A girl with dark hair and violet eyes stood near one of the stairs leading up to the bridge, waiting for something. Daniel walked past her without much thought, until she called out to him.

“Daniel-senpai! Is that you?” Strange, he didn’t recall meeting this girl before, much less told her his name. He stopped and turned to her

“That’s me, what can I do for you Miss?”

“W-well, my name’s Yuma and...I’ve been seeing you around school a-and...” The girl stopped, red flushing in her cheeks. “I-I love you!” She suddenly shouted, looking embarrassed. Daniel didn’t know how to respond to this

“So, could we….maybe...go on a date?” She put the tips of her fingers together in a shy manner, looking at him. His brain finally caught up and he took a breath.

“Listen, I am very flattered, really I am. This is just very, well, sudden and I think we should get to know each other first. After that, we can go from there. I don’t want to be all mean and stuff, so we’ll do that, is that ok?” He spoke with sincerity and caution, choosing his words very carefully. Luckily for him Yumi seemed to understand at least.

“O-ok, Daniel-senpai, that seems, seems, p-pretty good” She said, still stumbling over her words, facing away from him. Daniel nodded and turned to leave, waving goodbye to her.

“We’ll meet up tomorrow, Miss Yumi!” He said. Yumi, unbeknownst to him, grinned darkly and whispered to herself

“We’ll meet sooner than that, Daniel-senpai…”  
\---------------------------------------------------  
The route Daniel took also led him through the park, and it was also where he took a rest before continuing his way home. The area was quiet, save for the sound of a decently sized fountain running. Daniel was sitting on the edge, checking his phone and looking at random internet stuff. The sound of someone approaching made him look up. Yumi was there, oddly, looking rather pissed. Daniel, even more strangely, didn’t seem surprised, simply putting away his phone and standing up. “You know, I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you really had to follow me…”

“Be quiet! That doesn’t matter, what matters is that you have some sort of Sacred Gear, and we can’t let that get into the hands of the Gremorys!” Yumi suddenly entered a transformation, the clothing shredding into scraps and her body changing. Her figure became more mature, taller, and a pair of black, feathered wings sprouted from her back. Under the dress, she wore a heavily erotic set of straps and armor bits that reminded Daniel of a BDSM outfit. She hovered in the air, glaring down at him with unrestrained malice. “I am Raynare, and in the name of the Fallen Angels, you will be slain!” She summoned a spear of light into her hand and suddenly charged at him. At the last second, Daniel sidestepped and just missed colliding with her. Raynare crashed into a nearby tree and rubbed her head in pain. “You bitch! You’ll pay for-”

Daniel cut her off. “Listen, I wanted to be nice about this. But if you're going to attack me, then I’ll attack back” He stuck his hand out to his side, as it was covered in slick, black shadows that morphed itself into that of a three digit claw. He brought his arm down and went into a fighting stance.

“Enough talk! DIE!” Raynare shouted, launching at him, aiming to impale him. Daniel jumped forward, slamming into her and the pair crashed into the sidewalk. He managed to avoid getting stabbed, however Raynare’s side was marked with three slash marks. Daniel shook his head and pushed her off of him, stumbling out of the way of Raynare’s punch. She remade her spear and jabbed it at him, grazing his stomach, making him hiss. His dark arm retaliated by grabbing her by the throat and forcing her to the ground, before stomping her chest with his foot. She gasped as air was forced from her, feeling a rib crack. He reached down, his shadow arm extending to envelop her neck.

“Now, do you regret your decision, Miss Raynare?” His eyes began to change, clouding over the entire socket with a bright, glaring red. His skin darkened into the same black as his arm. Raynare choked and gasped under his grip.

“F-fine, let me go, I’ll never bother you again!” She pleaded, her eyes beginning to water with tears. He made no movement for a few seconds, then slowly released her, the shadow fading away and his face returning to normal. “I’ll hold you to your word, Miss Raynare” He said, a black magic circle forming at his feet, oddly not giving off any light. In a blink of darkness, he was gone. Raynare held her throat and side in pain, coughing. “What the hell was he...Nevermind, I have to inform the others” She flexed her wings and flew off, leaving the fountain empty of visitors once more


	2. Pawn Shop

WAKE UP MASTER~ IS 6:00 AM~! NYA~! TIME TO WAKE UP~

WAKE UP MASTER~ IS 6:00 AM~! NYA~! TIME TO WAKE UP~

WAKE UP MASTER~ IS 6:00 AM~! NYA~! TIME TO WAKE UP~

WAKE UP MASTER~ IS 6:00 AM~! NYA~! TIME TO WAKE UP~

Daniel jolted awake and smacked the alarm clock, ridding his senses of that cursed, high pitched voice and jail-bait avatar. He groaned as he slowly sat up, before hissing at the feeling of pain in his stomach. He looked down to see that his stomach still had the fresh cut from yesterday, when he fought that fallen angel. The bandages were coated in dried blood, but otherwise the wound was healing fast. Daniel got out of bed, throwing on his spare uniform and went to get himself ready for school.

School simply went by as normal. Classes were boring, he had lunch with the ORC again and they had some fun, and there was a short assembly to mourn the death of Issei, though he noticed that a _lot_ of the girls he could see didn’t seem too upset at this fact. Soon, school was let out and he began making his way home, again, taking another route that did not go through the park in case Raynare wanted another round. Daniel continued walking, not particularly paying attention to his surroundings. As he passed a small alley, a man in a trenchcoat stepped out and began trailing behind him. Daniel soon noticed this and ducked into another alley, walking a bit before realizing it was a dead end. The stranger blocked his only way out, and gave him a smirk.

“Thought you were smart, huh kid? I heard what you did to Raynare, guess you got yourself a good gear huh?” He said, approaching him. Daniel turned around and slowly backed up, hitting the wood fence that cut off the rest of the alley. “Now, let's make this quick!” In his hands he summoned a spear of light, throwing it faster than Daniel anticipated. He ducked, but the spear struck the top of his shoulder, blinding his senses with searing pain. He hit the ground and groaned and hissed, clutching his wound. The man smirked, readying another spear before a flash of crimson light lit up the alley. Daniel could barely hold himself awake through the pain, but the last thing he saw before knocking out was a girl with crimson red hair.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------  
WAKE UP MASTER~! NYA IS 6:00 AM IS SCHOOL TIME~! WANT TO SHOWER WITH ME~? NYA~!

WAKE UP MASTER~! NYA IS 6:00 AM IS SCHOOL TIME~! WANT TO SHOWER WITH ME~? NYA~!

WAKE UP MASTER~! NYA IS 6:00 AM IS SCHOOL TIME~! WANT TO SHOWER WITH ME~? NYA~!

WAKE UP MASTER~! NYA IS 6:00 AM IS SCHOOL TIME~! WANT TO SHOWER WITH ME~? NYA~!

Daniel hit the alarm clock again, cursing at it sleepily. Wait, that meant he was back in his bed? He sat up and clenched his teeth to stop himself screaming. He looked at his shoulder, wrapped in bandages and stinging like a hot iron was pressed into him. In his pain-fueled daze, he tried to remember yesterday. Clearly a Fallen had ambushed him, no question there. But then, how did he go from lying on the floor to his bed? He looked around his room, not noticing anything out of the ordinary. Closet was closed, door was shut, windows sealed, mysterious lump on the bed still- wait what? He flinched and quickly stood up, fight or flight response kicking in. The lump seemed to yawn and move up, the covers falling off to reveal a very nude girl with a sizable amount of crimson hair. _(RIAS? The hell is she doing in my bed, and naked of all things?)_ He thought to himself as the girl turned to face him, not bothering to cover herself and giving him a soft smile  
“Oh? Daniel-san, you’re awake, you sure woke up early despite that nasty injury of yours” She said, looking at the clock that read 6:01. Daniel inhaled and gave her a look of unbridled confusion.

“Not to be rude, Miss Rias but, Why in the _fuck_ are you naked?!?!?” He said, keeping his eyes firmly locked with hers. “If we’re going to talk, wear something, I am not explaining this to my parents, good lord...” He spiraled into an annoyed rant while going to his closet and tossing a pair of shorts and shirt at her. Rias giggled at his clear embarrassment, finding it sort of cute.

“Hehehe~ Sorry, but it's the best way for me to sleep. If you’re worried, we didn’t do anything _devious_ ” She said, adding a wink at the end, before starting to put on the shorts. Daniel shot a glare at her.

“Cool, now please hurry up before I have a damn stroke.” He said, facing away from her and staring deep into the closet. She giggled again and put on the shirt, breasts tenting it slightly from their size. 

“Ok Daniel-San, you may turn around now” Daniel turned and let out an exasperated sigh. He sat down on the bed next to her, still hissing from the pain in his shoulder.

“First off, thanks for saving me back there, I had my guard down…” He said, rubbing the back of his neck gingerly to avoid touching his wound.

“No problem~. Now I’m sure you’re confused about all this, so let me-” Daniel held up a hand.

“Sorry to interrupt Miss Rias but...um, I kind of know about the whole Devil and Angel stuff.” He said, make an awkward expression . “I can’t go into much detail but basically my ‘Sacred Gear’ as they call it is sapient and awoke around…” He counted on his fingers “Three or so years ago. It explained what you were probably about to tell me.” He shrugged “So...yeah, that's a thing!”

Rias blinked and gave him a surprised look and tilted her head in confusion. “...Huh. So if you knew, then why did you never mention it to the club?”

“I simply never had a reason to. My gear was able to suppress its aura enough to fly under the radar, so I was able to avoid stuff like last night. Unfortunately, my natural progression is starting to get too high to hide. I’ve been encountering Fallens recently and I was planning on asking this week. Guess now is as good a time as ever.” Rias nodded.

“We’ll do that at the club today. It’ll be a great introduction” She said with a smile. He grinned back and looked at the time. It was about 6:13, and he decided it was a good time to get ready.

“I need to get dressed and all that, can you wait here?” He asked. She gave him a flirty look.

“I could help you get all washed up~” Daniel chuckled and shook his head as he got out his now repaired uniform.

“Yeah, I ain't falling for that. Please just sit tight for a bit, Miss Rias” With that, he left to go get himself ready. The rest of the morning went smoothly, as Rias had brought him home last night and explained the situation to his parents, so they weren’t surprised that she was there, although his little sister was clearly going to blab about it to her school friends.

The pair walked to school together, Rias holding his arm to her chest as they passed the gates. Daniel could feel the angry, jealous stares of nearly every guy they passed, and the confused and scandalous looks of every girl. Rias gave him a sympathetic smile, but he didn’t feel much better. The two finally split paths to their classes, and the second Daniel stepped through the door, he was met with a mob of his classmates. 

“DANIEL-SAN, HOW DID YOU DO IT, TEACH ME YOUR WAYS”

“ARE HER BREASTS AS SOFT AS THEY LOOK?”

“WHY DID SHE PICK YOU, IT SHOULD’VE BEEN ME!”

Daniel backed up slightly and felt overwhelmed by the attention. It was as if the paparazzi were trying to get an exclusive interview with some famous director, except the director was a massive introvert. His saving grace was the fury of the teacher making them go to their seats before he assigned a hellload of homework. Most of the students grumbled and gave him space, though he could hear the whispers and comments under their breaths.

It was the beginning of the class before lunch, and Daniel began pulling out his notebook in preparation. There was a knock at the door, and everyone turned in confusion. One student answered it, the class erupted in the dreamy sighs of every young girl in the room as Kiba walked in. The teacher spoke with him a bit before turning to Daniel and beckoning him. He, along with everyone else, were surprised by this. As he packed up and walked from his seat, he could feel the judging looks peppering him like he was just made the new 3rd member of the Perverted Trio. Kiba had given some excuse about something and basically bought them some time to visit the ORC. 

The pair walked down to the club room, where the others were waiting, along with some random cardboard box. Rias greeted the two boys. “Ah, Kiba, Daniel, you’re here. Perfect, we can begin” She clapped her hands together.

“I assume you’ve explained the situation, Miss Rias?”

“Mhm. Now, do you understand how a peerage and Evil Pieces work?”

“From what I remember, it functions as a chess game, with a King, Queen, two bishops, two knights, two rooks and eight pawns. Rooks are strong, Knights are fast, Bishops use magic, Queens are powerful, Kings are important, Pawns can promote. Is that good?”

Kiba looked a little surprised. “Wow, you did your homework Daniel-San!”

“Thanks, so what exactly will I be?”

“You will be a pawn, Daniel-San. The thing about pawns is that depending on the candidate, they can be worth multiple pawns.” Rias explained, grabbing an ornate box and approaching him, opening it to reveal eight red pawns. “Now, grab a pawn and the ritual will be complete” Daniel nodded and grabbed a pawn, a magic circle glowing beneath him. All eight pawns suddenly glowed and blinked away, and the pawn he held began shaking. Everyone looked concerned, Rias especially looking confused and a little unnerved. The piece’s red color darkened into a black and jagged red lines cut into the surface and glowed. The piece then infused with Daniel and everything finished. Rias blinked awkwardly, and cleared her throat. “I welcome you to the house of Gremory. You are my pawn. I am now your master.” Daniel laughed a little out of fear

“Um, guessing that's not normal now is it?”

“Well, I knew you were worth eight pawns, however, whatever happened to your pawn there is something I have not seen before. It somehow felt...scary.” She said. The others looked a little nervous, even Koneko. Daniel nodded slowly

“Um, so I guess I’m a devil now. So, I guess we should introduce ourselves properly, I guess?”

Rias nodded. “I, Rias Gremory, am the daughter of the Great Satan Sirzechs and one of the Rookie Four. I have the power of Destruction from my clan’s heritage.”

Akeno spoke next. “I am Akeno Himejima, Ria’s Queen, the Priestess of Thunder and I command holy lightning”

“I am Kiba Yuuto, Rias’s knight, wielder of the Sacred Gear Sword Birth.”

“I am Koneko Toujou, Rias’s Rook” She said between bites of a small cake. Rias moved to the cardboard box.

“He’s a little shy but this is Gasper Vladi, my Bishop and a vampire.” She said, lightly tapping the lid. A small, feminine voice rang out.

“H-hello…”

“I see. Well, I am Daniel Retsalreve, wielder of the Sacred Gear Primordial Dark.”

Akeno giggled. “Ara Ara, such a strong sounding name, why don’t you show it to us~”

Daniel gave her a look but nodded. “Alright. Primordial Dark, Right Arm Fusion.” He spoke dramatically, and his arm became wrapped in a dark showdy substance that formed a three digit claw like before. Rias looked at it with curiosity.

“So, it manipulates shadows and mixes them with your body? Interesting.” She said, observing his arm. Kiba watched it as well, feeling the forearm section.

“It feels like a mix of silk and seaweed, weird” Daniel moved his arm slightly to show the movement capabilities.

“It’s essentially a sort of living costume or bodysuit, like Venom.” He explained. Koneko simply kept a blank face while eating snacks. Daniel soon let the sacred gear deactivate and the shadow melted away. Rias put a finger to her chin. 

“Well, it certainly seems useful. There is more that we need to discuss, but I’ll save that for afterschool tomorrow.” She said. A bell rang signaling lunch had begun. “For now, lets eat!”


	3. Admit One (Not Applicable to Strays)

The sun was setting on the town of Kuoh, and the club members were together to perform their tasks for the night. While the others prepared to fulfill their contracts, Daniel was taken aside by Rias for instructions.

“So, the contracts are a way for Devils to increase their rank in exchange for granting the wish and desires of a human. Now, while we were checking the ones for tonight, Koneko appeared to have been double booked, so you’ll take one of her contracts as a substitute. Got it?”

“Understood, Miss Gremory.” He said. Rias giggled.

“Please, I’ve told you to call me Rias. Now, do you happen to know how teleporting works?”

“I stand and make a magic circle at my feet and envision my destination correct?”

“That's correct” She handed him a flyer. “The address is written on the paper, go forth Daniel-San”

Daniel nodded and stepped back, mental forming the location of the address in his mind. The red magic circle formed at his feet, and in a flash he was transported to the location. It was an apartment complex in Kuoh, Daniel shrugged and turned to the doorstep he had landed on. He lightly knocked on the door. “Hello? Anyone home?”  
The door opened to a man in his twenties with medium-length black hair, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and black pants, who immediately shut the door on him. “Who do you take me for? Stop bothering and go home kid.” He said through the door in an unpleasing tone. Daniel shook his head and spoke.

“Look, if you were expecting Miss Koneko she had a double booking and I’m the replacement. Either deal with it or you ain’t getting anything, Mr. Morisawa.” Daniel crossed his arms and gave the peephole a glare. The door opened and Morisawa beckoned him inside. Daniel stepped into an Otaku dreamland, shelves stock with hundreds of anime dvds and mangas, posters lining the walls and anime figurines as far as one could see. The two sat at the small table.

“Alright, if you’re going to be the stand in, you need to prove yourself. Show me what cool devil tricks you got!” Morisawa said, giving Daniel a look of skepticism. Daniel tilted his head in confusion. 

“Tricks? I mean, what does Miss Koneko usually do?”

The man suddenly pulled out a cosplay outfit “Cosplay! Save the Princess?” He shouted with a little too much glee. Daniel resisted the urge to hurt Morisawa then and there.

“What in the fuck do you and her do in here??” He said with shock and disgust

“Hey, its hard to find a cute young thing to sweep me off my feet every week, unless I try to grab one off the street.” He explained. Daniel felt even less comfortable now. He made a mental note to give Koneko extra chocolate next time they met.

“Wait, she’s the one saving you? Explains some things…”

“Yeah, so what can you do for me?”

Daniel focused and let Primordial Darkness infuse his arm, before showing it off to him. “Well, this is my main power, sort of like the American supervillain Venom” Morisawa inspected it with curiosity.

“Hmph, seems fitting in spirit, but Venom’s actual body would be more rubbery and putty-like. This is more like a full body suit on plastic or fiberglass” He said, rubbing his chin.

“...well if you put it that way, then yes” He didn’t really know what to say here, this man clearly had too much time on his hands.

The rest of the interaction was a discussion over Dragon Boy Z, and Daniel soon left once the time finished, unfortunately not getting any pact or contract made. When he returned to Rias, however, she mentioned that Morisawa had given him an excellent review on the exit survey. Daniel wasn’t sure to be happy about that or feel shame for getting liked by a lolicon.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------  
That morning, Daniel was making his way to the park, as the weekend had finally arrived. As he strolled down the sidewalk, he pondered the recent change of events. _(At least my injuries have fully healed. That spear could’ve easily ruptured my stomach. Anyways, anything new you’ve not-)_. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone falling to the ground and crying out in pain. He turned and was greeted with the sight of a young girl, who appeared to have tripped on the sidewalk and landed in a very...compromising position. He had a crystal clear view of her butt and underwear, thought Daniel kept his eyes away from that part of her

“Oh no, it looks like I fell down again, I’m such a klutz...” She sounded embarrassed and self-doubtful, and she soon sat herself up to face him. The girl was blonde with green eyes and fair skin, dressed in a teal nun-like outfit including a white veil with light blue trimmings, and a set of brown boots. Daniel was able to look at her properly now and approached her, crouching down and extending a hand.

“Need a hand there, Miss?” He said, giving her a kind smile, waiting for her to make her decision. The girl took his hand and used it to help herself up, the veil being blown off by the breeze to fully show her face. The two looked at each other awkwardly before Daniel let go of her hand and cleared his throat. “Sorry, that was a bit weird to just stare. You alright?” He asked, picking up the veil and handing it to her. She smiled kindly as she took the veil and put it back on

“How sweet of you, kind sir! Don’t worry, I’m not hurt thankfully”

“Of course, Miss. Anything to help” He nodded and helped her put the clothing on the ground back into her suitcase. “Haven’t seen you around here before, you new to Kuoh, Miss?”

“Yes I am actually! If it’s not an issue, I’m a little lost...I can’t find the church, do you happen to know where it is?” She asked, looking downward while holding her hands together.

“Yes actually, would you like me to take you there?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you sir!”

He grinned at her, putting his hands in his pockets. “Call me Daniel, Miss”

“I’m Asia, Asia Argento.” She gave him a bright, pure smile that he swore could blind him if he stared at it too long.

The two walked side by side down the street, chatting about the weather and the sights around Kuoh. The religious necklace around her neck made him feel like some sort of allergy was acting up, which he figured was due to his new status as a devil. Asia sensed something was wrong and gave him a look of concern. “Are you ok Daniel, is something wrong?”

He waved his hand. “Oh sorry, allergies are acting up today. Damn pollen, y’know” Lucky for him, she seemed to buy it, and they continued walking. As they passed the local playground, a young boy tripped and fell, scraping his knee and beginning to cry from the pain. Asia rushed over to the boy, consoling him and trying to calm him down as Daniel watched from nearby. She raised her hands over the boy’s scrape, a green glow emanating from them. In an instant, the scrape was fully healed, no sign of blood to be found. The kid, amazed, thanked Asia and went off to continue playing. Daniel gave a curious look to her, but said nothing as they kept on walking.

“You must be really surprised,” Asia said out of the blue, sounding a little sheepish about what she did. Daniel gave her a grin

“A little, but I’ve seen my fair share of wondrous things. It’s a very neat power though, I like the color”

“Thank you! I consider it to be a gift and a blessing. Oh, there it is!” She said, looking up ahead. Daniel followed her gaze and saw that they were in sight of the church.

“Yes, sadly its the only one we have in town, but it does its job well”

“Thank goodness I found it, I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to find it before dark”

As she spoke, Daniel was suddenly hit with a flight or fight response while looking at the church. Managing to keep his composure, he quickly suppressed the feeling down. _(Damnit, I was afraid this would happen...I might be able to avoid causing extreme issues if I keep my cool.)_ He thought to himself, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

“Daniel, are you alright?” Asia said, looking worried “Do you need something for your allergies”

“Sorry, it’s fine, I’ll take some meds when I get home. Shall we continue?” He said. She smiled and nodded, the two resuming their walk. 

As they grew closer and closer, the feeling was soon replaced with burning in his head and chest. Stubborn as a mule, he gritted his teeth and pressed on. Already, his senses could pick up something or someone nearby, probably a church member. Asia was thankfully unaware of this struggle, simply looking around the scenery with excitement. Once they reached the front steps, Asia bowed to him.

“Thank you, Daniel, for escorting me here out of the kindness of your heart. God bless you” She said, the words causing the burning to spike momentarily. He nodded and turned to leave waving goodbye.

“Later, Miss Argento, lovely to meet you.” He said, quickly walking down the road away from the church. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t make it far before being yanked into an alleyway by a figure in a white hood/robe. The holy energy on them was strong, and they seemed to be female, speaking in a feminine yet serious voice.

“What is your business, devil? Preying on a member of the church, in broad daylight?! Give me a good reason I shouldn’t smite you here and now” She said angrily, forming a spear of light in her hand. Daniel gulped and sighed.

“You do know I can tell you’re not a real angel…” He said, crossing his arms. The woman cursed and removed the hood, revealing a middle-aged woman with black hair and violet eyes.

“Raynare told us about you, you're lucky you got into a peerage before we found you. Still doesn’t explain what you’re doing with her” She spoke with venom in her voice, glaring at him.

“We just met today, keep your feathers unruffled. I actually find her nice so I’d suggest you scrap whatever plan you have for her, unless you want a one way trip to Hades himself.” He retorted with unrestrained malice. The fallen spat at the ground and unsummoned the spear.

“This isn’t over, Mister! You won’t be strong enough to face us when we’re finished.” She said, pushing him back into the street and teleporting away. Daniel brushed himself off and went back in to teleport back home, any longer and he’d go numb from the religious energy.  
\----------------------------------------------------  
“YOU DID WHAT? DANIEL THAT IS THE MOST IRRESPONSIBLE THING I THINK I’VE EVER HEARD” Daniel flinched slightly as Rias blew steam from her ears in anger, lecturing him over what he did with Asia. "I’d give you slack if you were any other new member, but you _knew_ the dangers of getting that close to a church! And that Fallen could’ve rightfully killed you then and there! I am disappointed in you mister!” She took a deep breath, and smacked him on the forehead. 

“Ack! Alright, alright, I’m sorry...I won’t do it again.” He said, rubbing his head. Rias sighed and sat back down.

“I’m sorry, Daniel-San, please be more careful. Still, this information is valuable nonetheless. If the fallens have such a Gear in their possession, they may have the upper hand. We’ll need to increase our guard.” As if on cue, Akeno walked into the main room with a letter.

“It’s from the Archduke, a Stray Devil has been causing trouble nearby.” She said, with clear seriousness. Rias nodded and turned to Daniel.  
“Let’s see how you handle this, Daniel-San”

The group arrived late in the evening, at the steps of an old abandoned home in the forest. Apparently, the creature had been luring in humans and eating them, so the peerage needed to find and kill them as quickly as possible. The group opened the front doors to the dusty shell of a grand main hall, empty of any furniture or any other signs of life. Half of the room was covered in darkness, the other barely lit by the moonlight peering through the opened windows. “Hey there, demons, it's me ya boy” Daniel called out suddenly. Koneko karate-chopped him in the back. 

“Take this seriously, it’s here” She said in that flat tone, pointing to the shadowy half of the room. Movement could be detected as a humanoid shape began entering the brighter side of the hall. A seductive, feminine voice spoke from the darkness.

“What could that foul, fickle smell be? Mmm~ Something smells quite delicious as well~ I wonder if it tastes sweet or bitter?” Peeking through was the upper half of a voluptuous, nude human female with long dark hair and grey eyes, smiling with hunger and desire. Daniel shielded his vision out of respect and minor disappointment. Rias glared at her.

“Viser, you _wretch_. You betrayed your master and ran away to fulfill the lustful wants and desires that have consumed you. Your sins are worthy of a thousand hells. In the name of the great Marqui of Gremory, begone or meet your death!” Daniel softly applauded the speech.

The stray grinned. “Oh, just give it a _rest_ , you _little slut_. You always have had it in for me. You’re just jealous that your breasts will never be as _luscious as THESE~_!” She said, fondling her own chest with clear arousal and giggling. Daniel let a faint yet menacingly inhuman growl escape him. 

“This is your final warning! Go back to your master now!” Rias retorted, not putting up with whatever Viser was playing at. Daniel crossed his arms and leaned to Kiba.

“So this is a stray? Not exactly intimidating, what’s the catch with Viser?” He asked, looking around the area to avoid watching her ‘display’. Suddenly, Viser lifted a massive, monstrous arm, tipped with red, glowing claws. The lower end of her body was revealed, two massive legs and a furry lower chest, horrible and twisted like a deformed centaur.

“Let me show you what I’m made of then!” She cried out.

“Consider my question answered...eugh” He said, making a look of disgust as she let herself succumb to her own touch. As she continued, a red magic circle formed around her nipples as they somehow extended slightly like the barrel of a turret. “Um...what in the fuck??” The stray’s laughter hit a high point as a yellowish, radiant liquid was fired from her nipples at the group. Everyone scattered as the shot splattered against a wall, eating through it with speed. “Wonderful, acidic breast milk…” He said, as Rias turned to Kiba

“Kiba!”

Kiba nodded and drew a sword, charging the stray with such speed that he was simply a blur. As if he had teleported, he appeared in front of the stray and quickly amputated her large forearms with the ease and grace of a master cook dicing vegetables. Daniel watched this carefully. “Knight...swift, sharp, deadly.” He said to himself. Viser noticed Koneko in front of her and reared herself, letting the lower half of her body split to reveal a toothy maw as she charged the small devil. Koneko barely flinched as the mouth enclosed around her. Daniel was concerned until he noticed the mouth shaking as Koneko suddenly forced the mouth open. She was unscathed and still blank faced, though her clothing took a light beating. With a punch, she shattered the creature’s teeth/ribs and launched it through a pillar and against the wall.

“See you on the flip-side” She deadpanned. Daniel gave a thumbs up.

“Rook, strong and tough…” He said. Rias nodded to Akeno, who giggled with sadistic glee.

“Oh, is it my turn? How exciting!” She said, calmly walking up to where the stray laid. As Rias and Daniel watched her, one of the severed arms was hastily crawling at Rias, somehow still mobile. Daniel snapped his gaze to the limb and growled.

“Oh no you don’t!” He shouted in annoyance, shadow forming his arm into a curved spike, sidestepping in front of Rias and impaling it before flinging it away. Rias gasped in surprise and stumbled back.

“Thank you, Daniel-San”

“Of course”

Akeno shot a look at the stray. “I’ve got news for you, you’re not the only one who likes to play rough here~. Let's say I have some fun” Arcs of electricity jumped between her hands before bringing down a deadly blast of Holy Lightning upon the stray. The creature screeched like a dying animal as Akeno appeared to be getting a little...too into it. Daniel rubbed his chin.

“Queen, a true powerhouse…” Rias gave Akeno a scolding look.

“I think she’s had enough, Akeno” She said, the lightning stopping and the stray finally collapsing. Rias slowly approached the dying monster. “Any last words?”

“ _Go to hell_!”

“Alright, lets get this over with” She raised her arms and a red magic circle appeared. Rias then jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Daniel. “Daniel-san? What is it?”

“I’d like to take a spin, please” He said, tapping his hand with the dark blade. She sighed reluctantly and nodded.

“Fine, but don’t take too long.” She said. He grinned and walked up to Viser, crouching down to look at her head. He tilted her chin up to face him and gave her a smile dark enough to rival Akeno’s sadism. The dark blade became a tendril that violently forced itself into her throat, traveling into her stomach.

“ **Consider this karma for insulting Miss Rias, you lustful scum** ” He growled into her ear, his voice radiating power and malice unlike the stray had ever heard as the tendril seemed to extract... _something_ from her, the light fading from her eyes. He took a breath as he felt the new _thing_ settle into his body. The tendril faded back and returned his normal arm, and he stood back up and walked back. “Kill her” Rias nodded, a little confused to what he just did and unleashed the Power of Destruction on Viser. She turned back and sighed.

“That's it for tonight, let's head home everyone.” She said, walking ahead of the others. As the group followed behind, she couldn’t help but ponder what exactly Daniel had done with the stray, as now he seemed just a little more...powerful.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Yubelluna charged at Riser again, launching a volley of fire blasts at him. He quickly weaved through the attack, summoning the Boosted Gear. “BOOST” He shouted, the gauntlet glowing green as he landed a hit on the Bomb Queen’s side and incapacitating her.

“One, two, three! Riser wins!” Shouted Ravel, as the rest of his peerage politely applauded. Riser took a dramatic bow and helped up his Queen, the lady blushing slightly even as her side stung.

“You did good, Riser-senpai…” She said, as Riser gave her a kiss on the cheek. 

“So did you dear” He said, stretching and unsummoning the BG. The others soon began inflating his ego with praise, as Riser basked in the glory of his own power. Ravel looked the most excited.

“Rias won’t be able to say no for sure, bet that slut will be begging for the ring when you show her your new toy.” She said, taking a jab at Rias for her own reasons.

“Trust me, no one would say no to marrying someone like Riser! She’s just being hard to get, but this Sacred Gear will get her wet instantly.” He said with a snap of his fingers. 

Deep in the Phenex Estate, within the confines of a dank dungeon cell, however, a cursed chest rattled. The contents were chuckling to themselves, listening to the early celebration Riser was holding. It knew its vessel was preparing to carry out it’s plan, and it knew that even the power of Boosted Gear could not halt it once it was free. All it had to do was lie in wait, ride out the storm. Nothing, not even a Phoenix, could escape the jaws of the Void…


	4. Freed-om and Imprisonment

Daniel teleported onto the front porch of the summoner’s home, the sun setting over the relatively quiet neighborhood. Koneko was overbooked again, and he had to handle this summon himself. “Gremory Clan, here to fulfill your summon and all that.” He called out, only being met with silence. He waited a second before testing the doorknob, finding it oddly unlocked. Once he opened the door, the faint scent of blood hit his nose, making him cough. “A trap...figures.” He grumbled, letting both his arms become shadows as we walked into the hall towards a dim light in another room.

The moment he stepped in, he felt the sense of holy energy. If he had to guess, a church member was nearby, hopefully they were just the victim. He entered the room lit up, and was met with a hellish sight. A poor man, skin and eviscerated, his blood pooling fresh on the floor and walls. The victim’s chest was a gaping hole, and their body was nailed to the wall in a crucifixion pose. Judging by the looks of it, the man was barely dead an hour. Daniel gagged and wrinkled his nose in disgust. 

“Punish the wicked. Words to live by. Yes, wise words to heed from a holy man!” Daniel snapped to his left, noticing a man on the couch. They had short white hair, red eyes, and dressed in the coat and outfit of a priest. The maniacal look on his face told otherwise, however. 

“You know, if you were hoping to surprise me, I could smell your handiwork from the door.” Daniel said, readying his darkened hands for a fight.

The priest laughed and took a sweeping bow. “Freed Sellzen, at your service!” He said, breaking into a crazed dance. “And you must be the scared little pussy devil this priest is going to exorcise!”

“Priest? I think I felt the Pope roll over in his bed.”

“Smart mouth you got there. I’m from a certain exorcism organization you may have heard of”

“Doesn’t explain the Jesus cosplayer over there”

“He was asking for it! Summoning you meant he was done being human. End of the line sinner!” Freed called out to the corpse, moving closer to Daniel. “Now, you’re going to join him as an example to anyone who decided to give up their soul for some dumb shit. Prepare to be purged!” The priest pulled out a silver-coated pistol and a blade of light with a silver handle. He swiftly lunged at him, swinging the blade as Daniel ducked and rolled. Once he landed, Freed quickly fired a shot at Daniel, shouting “KABLAM!”.The bullet struck his arm, and he hissed before smirking.

“Right back at ya, buckaroo!” He said, the shadows moving the bullet to his hand as it formed the end of a firearm and shot back at Freed. He landed a hit into the priest’s shoulder, making him wince.

“What the fuck! THATS CHEATING! THESE WERE BLESSED”

“So is ambushing a devil with a summon. If you wanted to kill me, hit up my actual house next time, bitch.” He retorted, the barrel changing to that of a knife blade. Quickly he charged at Freed, who easily sidestepped the attack.

“Too slow!” The blade of light sliced into Daniel’s back, racking his body with burning pain. He fell to the floor and screamed out, digging his claws into the wooden floor. Freed cackled and prepared to fire into Daniel’s skull. “LETS SEE IF YOU BLEED, SCUM!”. Before he could pull the trigger, a girlish scream rang out. Daniel turned his head from the floor to see a horrified Asia staring bug-eyed at the crucified man. Freed scoffed at her. “What the hell, Asia. Are you finished setting up the barrier already?”

“D-don’t do this!” She cried out at him. 

“Aww, a newbie? This is what the job is sweetie! We punish the unfortunate souls who decided to bargain with the evil devils!” At those words, Asia looked down and made eye contact with Daniel. He slowly rolled onto his back and sat up.

“Yeah...this is not how I wanted to tell you but this will have to make do.”

“D-Daniel…”

“What’s wrong? Do you two know each other or something?” Freed said, legitimately confused.

“Daniel you’re...you’re…”

“Sorry about basically lying, it’s not exactly a conversation starter…I was told not to see you again because of it, not that it would stop me.”

Tears formed in Asia’s eyes “Oh Heavens…”

“How cute! Sadly you and your boyfriend have no business being with each other. The Fallen Angels forbid our kind meeting theirs. Now!” Freed put the blade of light to Daniel’ throat. “ _Lets finish the job!_ ”

Daniel prepared to retaliate, but his view was suddenly blocked by Asia, as she stood protectively between him and the crazed priest. “Asia…” He said, but she stood silent and strong. Freed frowned in disappointment

“You have got to be kidding... Move brat!”

“I will not let you harm Daniel, please Father forgive him of his sins, he is a good man!”

“He is a Devil, Asia! A horrid creature from hell! He deserves to rot!” With that, he sliced the blade as Asia, landing a clean cut through her outfit and right in her chest. She covered herself and collapsed to her knees, blood spilling onto the floor. Daniel began to stand up, hissing and groaning from the blade wound. “What, are there maggots growing in that STUPID head of yours!?” Freed roughly grabbed her chin to make her face him. “Do you know what happens to naughty girls like you?” He said, using his blade to pin her to the nearby wall.

“Don’t fucking touch her, prick!”

He ignored Daniel’s threats and began roughly handling Asia against her will. “Why shouldn’t an outstanding priest have his way with a filthy tramp like you? That's not so wrong is it?” He giggled, groping Asia’s now exposed breasts

“ **E n o u g h** ”

Daniel’s blood boiled over into pure rage as he stood himself upright. The shadows on his arms spread across his body, cloaking his skin in darkness and giving him a more jagged, fear-inducing look. His face was pitch black and his eyes were pupiless red ovals that burned into Freed’s head. An aura of dread filled the room that made even Freed take a step back. “ **Unhand the mortal or face the dark abyss with all its fury…** ” He demanded, voice more dark and demonic. Freed nervously chuckled.

“And why should I care, pathetic devil?” He said, letting Asia fall to the floor.

“ **I may have also tipped off Miss Gremory, have fun dealing with her** ” With a speed to rival Kiba’s, Daniel dashed to Asia and picked her up Bridal Style. A shadowy magic circle that seemed to eat up the dim light formed at his feet. In a blink of darkness, the two were gone, leaving behind an angry priest, a corpse, and the sound of the Gremory clan teleporting into the room.  
\-------------------------------------------  
Asia jolted awake, clutching her chest. She looked to see that her clothing was undamaged, and her cut was gone. Confused, she decided to look where she was. It was a church, one lost to time as vines and green wild plants sprung up in the cracks and holes. The stained glass windows were all shattered, the pews rotting and moldy. Sunlight peeked through the holes in an oddly beautiful way. The sounds of insects and birds rang out. Asia stood up and turned to where the altar would be and gasped. The altar was pure white and gold, surprisingly clean and shiny. A large wooden cross hung over it, and a man was nailed to it, however the starved, unshaven and wild look told her it was not Christ on the crucifix. Dangling around the cross were the rotting bodies of wild boars, forty to be exact, twitching and jerking. Asia recognized the symbolism from a bible verse she read, where Jesus cast out demons from a sickly man into the bodies of pigs that drowned themselves. She slowly approached the altar, standing at the front row of pews.

“ **"The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”** ” A voice, calming yet unsettling, spoke from behind her. She turned and faced a shadow in the silhouette of a man in a cowboy hat with red eyes.

“D-Daniel?”

The shadow chuckled. “ **Nay, he has left you in my care for now. He had more pressing matters to attend to.** ”

“So then...who are you? And where’s Daniel, is he alright!?”

It raised a hand at her. “ **All will be clear in due time, Argento. Consider me a friend.** ” It said, bowing slightly, which Asia returned.

“Um...where are we?”

“ **Depends on what you mean. This church is located somewhere in America, but currently it is in your mind** ” It explained. “ **Physically, an alley several miles from that...monster’s killsite.** ” It said the last words with clear venom in its voice

“Father Sellzen…:

“ **Aye. Fear not, his time will come soon, as it shall for all.** ”

“Including me?”

“ **Your time approaches on swift wings, but you shall be reborn with your lover as a bishop.** ”

Asia blushed furiously. “L-lover! I-I mean, Daniel and I are just friends, it’s not…”

It grinned. “ **Did I say Daniel? That was on you** ” Asia moved to respond but shut her mouth and sighed in defeat.

“S-so, I’ll be a bishop?”

“ **Aye. And a damn good one at that. Twilight Healing has not been seen in decades, Argento** ”

“You mean…” She let her hands glow green for a moment. It nodded

“ **You know, I knew a man with your power. A kind soul, helpful to a fault, loved by every town he visited.** ”

“Oh? Who was he?”

“Oh just a young carpenter, nothing too special…” It pulled out a pocket watch from its shirt. “ **Ah, we appear to be out of time...before we depart, remember this, Miss Asia Argento.** ” It closed the gap between them, making Asia nervous.

“ **Ashes to Ashes, We all. Fall. _Down_** ”  
\------------------------------------------------------------  
Daniel bit down on the rubber necklace again, feeling the material bend and squish under his jaw strength. His mother had gotten it for him to release pent-up stress, and he was thankful he had this outlet after what happened. He let the necklace go, sighing and leaning back on the park bench. The events of last night still rang fresh, Freed’s actions had made him reach a new limit that he was not ready to handle. Worse still would be the coming meeting between Rias and him over his actions, and judging by the phone call they just had, he was really in for it.

“Daniel…”

That voice...He snapped up and turned, dreading what he was about to see. As he suspected, it was Asia, in her same outfit, standing and staring blankly at him. Silently, he beckoned her over, and she sat down next to him, hands on her knees and she kept her gaze down. He gently patted her shoulder.

“I’m...sorry about what happened, Miss Asia.”

“No, don’t be… I just- It’s a lot to take in. Knowing that my friend is a devil, and seeing what Father Sellzen did…” Tears began forming in her eyes. Daniel pulled out a tissue and handed it to her. “Thanks...for the tissue and for saving me”

He shrugged. “What kind of person would I be if I didn’t. If you need time to take it in, I’ll give you the space needed.” He gave her a soft smile, which she returned with a bright smile..

“No, no! Please, I’m fine, lets just hang out today...I heard there was an arcade?” She said.

The pair made their way to the shopping centre, which boasted a sizable arcade place with a wide variety of games. Asia, having little experience in video games, spent hours trying and testing as many games as she could, with guidance from Daniel. She also found it adorable when he gushed over his favorite game, a two-person Jurassic Park shooter that was apparently common in the Americas. As the pair prepared to move on, Asia was suddenly captivated by a claw machine brimming with a plush toy of some yellow mouse. Daniel chuckled and grinned.

“Something caught your eye?”

She blushed and held her hands close. “Oh no, not at all! I’m totally fine!” She said, apparently embarrassed.

“It is a cute plushie, want me to win it for you?”

“Y-yes please…”

Daniel smiled and fished out a quarter, popping it in and activating the claw. With surprising luck he managed to snatch one from the pile and get it into the chute. “Spent many hours perfecting my skill at these claw machines, most of it is just the luck of the positioning.” He explained, getting the plushie and handing it to her.

“Thank you for winning this little guy for me, I’ll think of you whenever I see it” She said, almost child-like in her excitement.

“Aw, I’m flattered Miss Asia. C’mon, we still got the rest of the day ahead.”

The couple visited a vending machine outside for some water, dehydrated from all their gaming. Asia continued holding the plush mouse close to her. Daniel moved to take a sip of his drink and winced. “Ack...damn cut” He grumbled.

“Your wound...it still stings?”

“Yeah, light weaponry is like cyanide to those like us”

Asia looked around, checking for those nearby, before pulling him into a more secluded side of the building and using her healing abilities on his back. The wound had already healed unusually fast, and Twilight Healing all but fully undid the damage. He moved his shoulder to test.

“Good as new, thank you miss Asia”

“You’re welcome, Daniel-san!”

He leaned on the wall behind him. “So, what's the story behind that fancy healing ability?”

“It’s a...long story. I was abandoned by my parents at a church in a small town in Europe. The nuns raised me for all of my childhood. When I was eight, I saved an injured puppy that was in the church with my prayers. Because of my miracle, I was taken to a larger church where I performed my miracle on men and women from around the world. I felt likeI had a purpose! Then, one day, I found and healed an injured man...but it wasn’t a man, it was a devil. I was declared a heretic, and cast from the church…” Daniel growled.

“What terrible people, they should be ashamed...I guess that's why you turned to the Fallens?”

“Yes, but even so I do my best to abide by the lord’s teachings. The Fallens, they do such awful things in the name of God…” She looked to the ground. “This suffering must be a test of my faith”

“A god who tests the faith of his followers is unworthy of such a title. Perhaps instead, it is a test to see how you will use that faith to strengthen yourself.” He said, listening to her. Asia looked up at him with curiosity.

“I...I never thought of it that way...thank you Daniel!” She cried out, crashing into him for a hug. Daniel chuckled and patted her back.

“You’ll do great things, Miss Asia. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t believe in you?”

The blonde girl blushed and released him. “Friends...even if it's forbidden…” She trailed off, looking away.

“Freed is the same guy who nearly killed me, his advice is misplaced at best”

“Th-then it’s settled! We’ll be friends!”

The pair moved to hug again, but the sound of fluttering wings made Daniel freeze. _(Oh, you have GOT to be fucking with me…)_. A giggle came from behind Asia.

“Isn’t that sweet?”

The pair turned to face Raynare, the fallen angel that attacked him, standing in her full battle gear with a smug grin.

“I thought we settled this, Miss Raynare, I’d rather not cause a scene in front of Miss Argento after what your crackpot priest did.”

The fallen’s grin was replaced with a scowl. “This isn’t about you dear, this is about Asia. I had such high hopes for her, but alas she had to toss away her soul to Devils!”

Asia glared. “Begone! I want no part of what you and the other fallen angels are planning!”

“What she said” Daniel let his arm envelope in shadow. “May I remind you that I kicked your leather-bound butt into next week.”

Raynare giggled. “Like either of you have a say in this. Now run along boy, unless you want to finish what we started!” She summoned her light spear. “I always hate to see someone die a virgin…”

Daniel formed his arm into a saw blade. “Fine by me, Mint is always the highest valued condition”

“That gear...word upstairs is that it's valuable to us. Its why I put on the dumb little girl act. Shame it didn’t work.”

He rolled his eyes. “Finished monologuing yet? I’m getting antsy here, y’know?”

“Yes, now hand over the girl, take what's left of your dignity and go!”

“How about you do that before I fuck you up-” He was cutoff as the light spear struck him straight in the chest. He gasped and fell to the ground, Asia screamed in terror.

“Nice catch, looks like your equipment can’t get the job done~. I’d get used to that.” Raynare giggled, but stopped when she noticed the spear not disappearing. Asia stepped back as Daniel forced himself up and grabbed the spear.

“Underestimating me are we? **Let’s fix that** ” He growled, inky darkness replacing the spear’s light. As he removed it, the wound healed itself unnaturally fast, darkness reverting the pierced flesh. Now armed, he pointed the dark spear at her, still wincing and hissing at the pain.

“Oh? My, my, aren’t you a trickster. However, how about we make a deal, Asia?” The fallen said, turning to Asia. In her hands was another spear, larger and deadlier, Daniel knew that getting hit could mean death. “Come with me, and I won’t murder Edgy over here”

Asia continued glaring at her, but the memory of Daniel’s pain made her think twice. “Fine, I will. Promise you won’t kill him.” Daniel wanted to retort but kept his mouth shut. Raynare smiled

“Good girl, now lets get going” Raynare roughly grabbed Asia and pulled her into a teleportation circle.

“Goodbye friend I’ll miss you”

“Wait no-!!!”

He moved too late… Asia was gone and it was his fault.


	5. Desecration of Holy Ground

Rias sat at her desk, reading a manga that had recently come out, apparently about a video game that trapped its users in it or something. She was finishing the introduction when the front doors slammed open, revealing a very upset Daniel with shadow enveloped arms. Rias nearly jumped out of her skin. “Daniel, wha-”

“Asia is in trouble, and I need your assistance, now!”

“I’ve told you before that you aren’t allo-”

“ **I _know_!**” He shouted, voice going dark for a moment before he collected himself. “But this is serious, not only will she be killed, but the fallens will steal that healing of hers and gain the upper hand. I know you could give less of a shit but I’m not letting an innocent person die from my inaction!” His iron grip on the doorframe released and he swiftly walked up to her desk. Rias wanted to retort but the look in his eyes made her stop. She knew that he was going to go anyways, whether she approved or not.

“Fine...I have something to attend to right now, Kiba is in charge.” She said, standing up and moving to prepare a teleportation circle. Daniel looked to see Kiba and Koneko standing nearby, not saying a word. Once she teleported away, Kiba spoke up

“Are you sure you want to do this. If a priest or Fallen kills you, you aren’t coming back”

Daniel nodded. “I know, but I made myself a promise...you coming or what?”

“I’m not leaving my best friend to die. Let’s get moving, Koneko?” He turned to the small cat girl.

“Someone has to keep you out of trouble.”

Daniel grinned. “It's settled, let’s hurry before we’re too late” He said, summoning a magic circle beneath him as the other two stepped inside, and in a blink of darkness were sent to the church  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The trio appeared in the forest surrounding the church, the sun having gone down just now. Kiba shook his head. “Wow, your teleportation feels weird, man”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Kiba. Now, assuming they’re not lacking a functioning brain, they know we’re here. Lets start heading in.” The others nodded and approached the front door, Koneko kicking it up with ease. The church was empty, nothing but dusty pews and a well-worn altar.

“Seems they knew not to hold whatever they’re planning in the main chamber.” Kiba stated, surveying the room.

“Indeed! We meet again at last!” A voice said, as the priest Freed walked out from the shadows, clapping his hands at the trio. “Glad you could make it, bet I’m a sight for sore eyes”

“Yeah, yeah, shall I assume you’re here to stop us?” Daniel said with annoyance

“You know, I pride myself on not having to fight a single devil more than once, and yet here you are just rubbing it in”

“Since I don’t see you attempting to molest my friend, I assume she’s in a basement or something?”

“That's right! The altar leads to it, but first, you’ll have to go through me first!” Freed said, pulling out his gun and light blade. Kiba drew his sword and Daniel summoned his shadows to his arms. A pew came flying at Freed via Koneko, which he managed to slice in half. “You’re pretty strong for a runt, y’know!”

Koneko death-glared him and Daniel knew Freed had fucked up. More pews were tossed at him as Freed ran, Kiba flanking him with a super-fast dash upward and bringing down his sword. The attack was blocked by the priest; the two became engaged in a sword fight, along with Freed firing his gun at him. As they fought, Daniel circled them to find an opening, and found it as the two held their swords against each other. 

“You're a fast kid, but you can’t outrun bullets!” Freed called out, before a dark tendril struck the blade of light, the sword flickering oddly. “The fuck!?”

“Primordial Void is the absence of light, your blade is a light snack” Daniel said, the blade collapsing and Kiba striking him in the shoulder.

Freed kicked away Kiba and turned the gun on Daniel. He retaliated quickly, shouting, “Promotion motherfucker!” as he felt his body solidify under the power of the Rook. As Freed fired, the bullets bounced off his chest while he charged, lining up a sucker-punch that sent Freed spiraling across the room. The priest quickly hopped back up and sprang up to the altar, dodging Kiba and Koneko’s pews.

“You won’t get the best of Freed Sellzen! You won the battle, not the war!” He shouted, throwing down a flash bomb and making his getaway.

“Damn it...I’ll kill him later, we have a friend to save” Daniel shouted, tossing away the altar and leading the others down the revealed basement steps.

The three entered a stairway leading to a large chamber, filled with masked priests and a large stone structure that Raynare and a chained up Asia stood atop of. “Come on in Devils, welcome to the party. Sadly you’re too late” said Raynare, gesturing to Asia, chained to a magical stone cross and unconscious. Daniel growled angrily, as the others arrived behind him.

“Hand her over, Raynare you fucker!”

“I would, but the ritual’s already complete.” As she spoke, the cross lit up with green energy, Asia screaming in pain. Kiba gasped quietly

“Thats it. They’re after her Sacred Gear”

“No shit, and if I remember right thats a fucking death sentence.”

As the glow subsided, a green magic orb floated from the center of her chest. The life in Asia’s eyes began to fade, her body falling limp against her chains. Koneko and Kiba gasped, Daniel trembled in horror as he watched her die in front of him. Raynare grabbed the gear.

“Twilight Healing, at last it's in my hands!” She said with triumph. She forced the gear into her chest, a radiant green glow shining as she did so. She cackled evily. “I will be beloved! I will be the most powerful Fallen there is!”

Something snapped in Daniel. A calm, unsettling voice rang in his ears. ( **You know what to do. Let the void call to you…** ) Kiba noticed Daniel’s movements and backed up in fear. Raynare looked down in confusion as Daniel’s body began to be coated in darkness. Tendrils of shadow sprang out from the floor, the walls and the ceiling, pumping him full of the Primordial Void. His hands were now wicked claws, his jaw and teeth expanded and grew. His eyes clouded over with glowing red, pupiless and burning with hatred unlike any of the beings here had ever seen. Daniel was now a foot or two taller, more intimidating, demonic even. Spines and spikes jutted out from his back and arms. This new form spoke in a low, monstrous voice, striding towards the altar.

“ **Raynare, thief of the Twilight Healing, murderer of Argento...** ”

The priest army charged but could not even get close as spines impaled them from the ground and toothy jaws snapped them up.

“ **Your crimes committed on this holy ground are inexcusable...** ”

Most of the combatants were dead, Kiba and Koneko stood next to each other nervous. Raynare backed up from fear.

“ **And may the Monolith see you die a million deaths!** ”

A massive tendril wrapped around Asia and yanked her into the inky void of his body. Rayanre tossed the light spear at them, his arm took the full hit without a synch, and retaliated with a side swipe that launched her into the wall leaving a large crack. The void beast simply turned and dashed back to the upstairs, smashing through the solid stone doorway and forcing its way upward. Kiba and Koneko turned to help hold off the remaining priests and Raynare.

The creature set her down on the closest pew. Asia looked up and gasped at the sight at first, before calming. “Daniel…” The creature rumbled back at her. 

“ **Asia...hang in there, please…** ” The girl took his clawed hand gently, voice weak and frail.

“I know it wasn’t a very long time...but, I’m so blessed to have made a friend like you…”

“ **No, this isn’t over, okay? We’re going to be friends forever, please!** ” Inky tears formed on its face as it began to cry. “ **After this, we can do whatever you wish, you can’t give up!** ”

“I wish it could be different, but it would have been great to grow up in this country, go to your school…”

“ **You still can, it’ll be a lot more fun...with you there.** ” It kept letting tears fall, as Asia put her weak, soft hand to the side of its face.

“I never wanted to make you cry, Daniel, I’m sorry...goodbye…” Her hand slowly let him go as the final breath of her life was released, eyes shut in a warm smile. The creature wept harder

“ **No...no! No no no no! NO NO NO!** ” It roared, refusing to believe she was dead. It let his head fall back and it let out a somber, heartbroken wail that rang into the night, carrying such a sadness that it stirred the hearts of all who could hear it. The fields laid cold, the winds stood still...The name of God and all he stood for was cursed by this creature.

“My my, aren’t you depressed, little boy?” The beast snapped its head to Raynare, seeing a small cut on her arm. “This? A tacky knight gave this to me, how rude of him…” She said letting her hand glow green as the wound healed. “Wonderful, isn’t it? No matter the injury, I heal instantly… The perfect gift for us without divine protection, wouldn’t you say” The fallen sighed dreamily. “And now I’ll never risk losing my rank in the underworld.”

“ **What does that have to do with her…** ”

“Unfortunately for those such as her with a sacred gear, this is their destiny. Like you”

“ **Bullshit, she wouldn’t have bothered using it for her own sake!** ”

“Out of the question!”

“ **WHY?** ”

“Humans with sacred gears were doomed from the start because of humanity’s disregard for the different!”

“ **I WOULD HAVE PROTECTED HER!** ”

“SHE’S DEAD AND YOU SPEAK ABOUT PROTECTING HER? WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?”

A shadowy arm lashed out from the darkness and pinned her to the wall. The void beast began approaching her, glaring with the hatred of a million souls. 

“ **Ring around the rosie..** ”

A set of spikes pierced the bones in her wings, a sickly crack ringing out as she screamed in agony.

“ **Pocket full of posies…** ”

“No, let me go! You can’t beat me, I have the supreme power!”

“ **Ashes...Ashes…** "

The creature stood in front of her now. It arched its back, letting its chest and stomach jut out. It grabbed the center of its body and pulled it apart to reveal a gaping, snarling maw with many teeth and protrusions ready to rend the flesh from her bones. Raynare screamed out “PLEASE, LET ME LIVE, I-I LOVE YOU, I ALWAYS HAVE! WE CAN BE TOGETHER, _HAVE MERCY_!!!”. The beast chuckled darkly with a hundred voices.

“ **We. ALL. FALL. _DOWN_** ”  
\----------------------------------------------  
Asia awoke to Daniel’s crying face. She gasped and went to hug him deeply, the two sitting embraced for a long time. When they finally pulled apart, she couldn’t believe the sight. “D-Daniel! But...I thought…” He smiled and wiped her face of her tears.

“I beat Raynare...She will never bother us again.” Asia went to hug him again. The two stayed like that until Kiba and Koneko managed to stumble from the basement. According to them, there were a few priests left that they got caught up in, but were otherwise ok. They didn’t even bother asking about Raynare or Asia, they could tell it was better left unsaid. The four regrouped and rested on the pews until…

“Well done, Daniel-San.” Daniel jumped and turned to see Rias and Akeno standing next to the pew.

“Miss Rias? How...how long have you been here?”

“Long enough to take care of the other fallens. I must say you did a good job with Freed, you three.”

Asia tilted her head in confusion. “Who are they?”

“I’m Rias Gremory, and you must be Miss Asia” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a red bishop piece from chess, holding it out to her. “How would you like to become my servant?”  
\------------------------------------------------------------------  
After the reincarnation of Asia into the peerage, the group returned to their respective homes for the night. The next day the group got together for a proper welcome to give to Asia. Rias and Daniel were currently the only ones to have arrived, and Rias had some questions.

“So, Kiba and Koneko told me about your...new ability.” She said, sipping a nice cup of fresh tea. Daniel flinched at the words and turned his gaze down as he sat across from her.

“The gear told me it was called Void Beast, and was only activated due to my emotional state. Unless someone else nearly dies, don’t expect to see that for a while.”

“You’ve told me that your gear talks to you? What does it say?”

“It mostly gives advice and likes to comment on situations, nothing super manipulative or anything.”

“I see. What did it tell you about me?” She asked with a playful wink.

“Besides that you were a devil? Nothing you would be really interested in hearing…”

“Hmm.” Her expression turned serious. “Kiba and Koneko were scared, Daniel-san. They showed me what you did. I understand that was a fluke moment, but if we should see something like that in the future, you need to learn to control yourself.” 

“I’m sorry, Mis Rias…” He felt shame hit him. To be honest with himself, had his anger not been laser focused on Raynare, he could have easily turned on his own friends for simply being in his path. “Maybe in the future we can do some training, learn self control.” Rias’s frown turned into a smile that radiated comfort and understanding.

“You’re still learning everything, Daniel. Even though you were not fully prepared, you still showed power and a sort of heroism I haven’t seen before. Guess that's why you’re worth eight pawns.” She giggled. 

“Right. Fear the power of the Ultimate Pawn!” He said dramatically. Rias giggled before getting up and giving him a surprise kiss on the forehead. Daniel went silent and looked at her with confusion. “Not to sound ungrateful but...why?”

“Consider it a good-luck charm for your efforts. I’d say expect more but I don’t want the new member to get jealous, fufufufufu~” She said teasingly, turning her gaze to the door. Daniel followed it to see Asia, in the Kuoh Academy Uniform, staring at the two while blushing furiously and fiddling with her fingers.

“Um, what’s going on” She said, her voice trembling slightly. Daniel felt his heart sink into the earth’s core.

“We were discussing the events of last night, nothing bad…”

“That's how it always starts. It's ok, I know she’s prettier than me...and she’ll probably do things I won’t so it makes sense that you would like her more.” Asia sounded almost heartbroken, before suddenly shaking her head. “Oh I shouldn’t say things I swear I’m not jealous I’m just insecure! Dear lord, please forgive me for my sins of lust and- AAAH!” She cried out as the pain from saying the lord’s name hit her for probably her first time. 

Daniel sighed into his hands. “Miss Asia, remember that praying as a Devil won’t do much…” He felt bad for her, but really had no way of properly consoling her.

“I forgot. He’s probably angry that I became a Devil…”

“How do you feel about it?”

Asia smiled. “I don’t have any regrets at all! The best part is that Daniel and me can be together forever now and that's all I ever really wanted”

Daniel chuckled nervously. “Not sure how I feel about this, honestly” He said to himself. “Judging by your outfit I assume you’ll be enrolling?”

Rias nodded. “My father is on the school board so getting her in as a transfer student wasn’t an issue”

“I forgot that. Neat!”

“Good morning everyone!” Kiba’s voice rang out as he and Koneko walked into the club room. Koneko gave a short wave.

“Glad to see you aren’t edgy anymore” She deadpanned at him. Another set of doors opened as Akeno rolled in a serving cart with a decently-sized white cake with strawberries.

“Oh Perfect, you’re all here! I brought cake so that we can officially welcome our new member!” She said. 

As the others looked in awe, Rias smiled and stepped back a bit from the festivities to look out the window. Her heart sank as she noticed an exotic, red bird watching them from the trees outside. She recognized it, and felt her insides twist at the thought. Unfortunately for the bird and its owner, someone else recognized it too...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Daniel's current status and abilities (will be added and updated at the end of each arc)]  
> Name\- Daniel Retsalreve
> 
> Species\- Reinc. Devil (Formerly Human)
> 
> Sacred Gear?\- Primordial Void  
> Abilities\- Infusion\- User coats their body in a dark, semi-liquid substance that allows them to manipulate and control shadow. Stating a specific body part will only infuse that part with shadow.
> 
> Null Absorption\- User can manually remove the Gears and powers of others. Any ability infused with holy energy will lose said energy in exchange for demonic energy. Current Absorbed Powers\- ChestBurst (Viser), Acid Spray (Viser)
> 
> Void Beast\- User transforms into a large shadowy creature for several minutes, gaining unusual strength, speed and regenerative abilities.


	6. Unfamiliar Territory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 525 Hits and 5 Kudos. Funky, thanks for the support lads!

\---------------[Chapter 6: Unfamiliar Territory--------------------------

Several days passed, and both Daniel and Asia were performing well in their duties under Rias. The pair delivered flyers across the city, and Daniel was able to handle a few summons, including the very intimidating Mil-tan (Who wished to be a magical girl despite being an adult man) and the blooming couple that were Susan and Horii. (Who were never seen without Samurai and Middle Aged Armour respectively). Asia had also been moved into the Retsalreve home after some negotiation between Daniel’s parents and Rias. The girl was bunked with Daniel’s younger sister Sarah, and the two became good friends even if Sarah teased Daniel and Asia about dating each other.

One afternoon, Asia and Daniel were preparing to go on another round of flyer distribution, when they were stopped by Rias. “Hold on there. Your flyer days are over for you two.”

“Um...what?” Daniel asked

“You remember how I said that pamphlet distribution was mostly done by familiars. Well, since you two have been working so hard, I’ve decided it's time for you guys to get familiars of your own.”

Asia tilted her head in confusion “Familiars?” 

“The equivalent of pets for devils, fancy magical creatures” Daniel explained. “I know you have one at least right?” He said, turning to Rias.

Rias nodded, before summoning a small bat-like creature. “This is my familiar”

The others (Who had simply been relaxing during this time) got up to introduce their familiars. Akeno had a tiny green imp and Koneko’s was simply a white cat named Shiloh. Asia was incredibly impressed by this, while Daniel was more intrigued.

“They’re really cool, but, um, how do you get one?” Asia asked.

“That's the next step.” Rias said, before a knock came at the main doors. Akeno signaled the new people to come in. A group of Kuoh students walked through the doors, dressed in the academy’s uniform.

First was a girl around the same age as Rias, shorter with a more slender body. Her black hair was short and bob cut-styled, held by a hair clip. A set of red glasses with oval frames offset her oddly pinkish eyes. Her entire look radiated professionalism in a cute way.

Next to her was a similar girl to the first, though her hair had such volume it hung at her knees, and she wore blue rectangular glasses behind a left violet eye and a right brown eye. The others totaled to five girls and one guy. The leading girl spoke. “Sorry to interrupt”

Daniel recognized them. That was the Student Council of Kuoh, led by the President Sona Sitri and her Vice Shirna Tsubaki. He gave a friendly wave to them. Asia looked a little confused. “Who are they?”

Daniel leaned to her, speaking quietly. “Student Council of the School. The two up front are Miss Sona and Miss Shirna, the President and Vice President.”

Rias smiled at the council. “Good to see you again Sona. What can I do for you?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to congratulate you on increasing the number of your servants,” Sona replied. She then smiled slyly. “It took you long enough.”

“Wait how does she know about that” Asia asked

“Miss Sona is a devil like Rias, hails from another high ranking clan. Next in line for the House of Sitri, underworld political stuff.”

The only male of the other group, a sandy-haired boy with grey eyes, spoke up. “Rias, I’m hurt that you didn’t tell your little boyfriend about us” He said in a cocky manner that irked Daniel. “But i suppose if you don’t trust him with inside information then he must not be worth much to you, huh?”

“Quite the mouth ya got there, sir. Besides I’ve been in the know for three years, so not only was that rude it was incorrect.” Daniel said, crossing his arms and shooting him a glare. Sona shot a look at both of them.

“You know, it's considered bad form for different households to interfere with each other.” She spoke with such authority that the two teens shut up quickly. Sona turned to Daniel. “I’m aware of your peculiar history with the supernatural, shame you never got to join our peerage. Also, this is Saji Genshirou, my second and newest pawn”

Daniel chuckled. “Another life, perhaps.” Rias cleared her throat. “This is Daniel Retsalreve, my new pawn and my second bishop, Asia Argento.” She said gesturing to them.

“Um, pleased to meet you”, Asia bowed, “I hope we’ll get along”

“A pleasure to meet you, Mr Saji. I look forward to working with you” Daniel put on a smile and extended his own hand. Saji scoffed arrogantly at it and smirked.

“Kid it, D-bag. You and your cackle of slutty sluts don’t deserve to be in the same room as a group of distinguished devils like the Sitris” Daniel felt a tick mark appear

“Take that back...:”

“Aw, he’s mad! Not even gay prince charming over there can protect you from me. I took up four pawn pieces bro!” He continued, holding up four fingers to underline his point. 

“...Not sure whether to undermine that point with either the fact that I’m eight pieces or the body count I have.” He said, looking between the two heads. The entire Sitri clan looked a little shocked.

“Rias, please tell me he’s joking about the second part.” Sona said after a few seconds of silence, expression mixed between worry and skepticism. Rias shook her head.

“We had some complications earlier this week if you remember. Daniel managed to take care of most of it.” Sona nodded grimly, while Saji looked pale in the face.

“H-he’s bluffing, he’s got to be.”

A dark chuckle came from Daniel. “ **Not even the ground would want you to rot in it** ” He spat in the darker voice, before sighing and rubbing the back of his neck. “Um...sorry, got carried away.”

“Agreed, I expected you to be the better person Daniel.” Sona spoke in such a way that Daniel was hit with an overpowering sense of shame. Rias sighed, and cleared her throat to ease the tension. “Anyways, back to the main topic…”

Sona seemed to remember something. “Right! You’re planning on getting your two recruits' familiars soon, correct?”

“Yes actually, why?”

“We appear to be in a deadlock, then. We were planning on bringing Saji to the forest tonight, and only one group can go in.”

“In that case” Rias smiled. “How about a friendly contest to sort this out”

“Contest?” Sona seemed surprised.

“Whoever wins earns the right to request first.” Rias gave her a look that declared a challenge. “Does that sound fair?”

“Surely you’re not talking about a Rating Game…”

Rias giggled. “Oh no, we’d never get permission to do something like that.”

“Yes you’re right” Sona responded. “Besides this is not the time to call attention to yourself now is it?”

The look on Rias’s face told Daniel that Sona hit a nerve. “Don’t go there.” Her frown was soon replaced with a smile. “I know! We should settle this the good old fashioned high school way with sports!” 

Sparks seemed to fly between the two girls at that notion. Daniel sighed, he had spent enough time to know that the two were incredibly competitive against each other, and such a match could only result in a tie.  
\------------------------------------------------  
It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, and on days like these, devils like Rias and Sona were preparing to run a tennis match. A private caged tennis court was rented out for the event, one side being occupied by the ORC, the other by the Student Council. Sona and Rias stood on the court on their respective sides, dressed in white sleeveless shirts and mini skirts that showed more than intended thanks to the breeze.

“Sona, I’m in it to win it.” Rias said, tossing the tennis ball in her hand. “No mercy”

Sona smirked. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, may the best devil win”

Rias quickly served the ball and struck it forward. Sona received it in record time, sending it back. The two young women hit back and forth with incredible ferocity, defending their sides with the force of an entire legion. This rapid movement flashed many, _many_ pantyshots, much to the clear glee of Saji. 

Asia looked worried, and turned to Daniel to say something. To her surprise, he was simply leaning back against the upper row of bleachers behind them and looking very exasperated. “Daniel-san? Aren’t you worried about Rias-san?” He turned to her.

“These two have been childhood friends, they’ve been having such competitions for years. Unfortunately they get _really_ into it, so it tends to often end with-”

“SONA SITRI STYLE!!!” A magic circle formed around Sona as she served the ball, launching it with incredible speed. Rias attempted to receive, but its speed was too much and it struck the court.

“One point, Sitri!” The brown haired referee girl said. Daniel grimaced at the sudden interruption.

“See what I mean…” He said, before turning to Kiba who sat nearby. “DIdn’t we agree on no magic?”

“Yeah, same here” He responded.

“Guess that's not gonna stop them,” Koneko stated.

Rias smiled. “Cheat all you want, it won’t make a bit of a difference in the end. You want a magic show? I’ve got a few tricks myself” She said, dramatically pointing the racket at Sona.

“Do your worse, Gremory! You think I’m afraid of you? Bring it on!” Sona challenged back at her.

The match raged all afternoon, the two girls activating their magic to up the stakes. It seemed like nothing could stop them, except for…  
\----------------------------------------------------------  
“This is why we can’t have nice things…” Daniel muttered as he collected the broken rackets and tossed them in the trash. Rias shrugged unashamed.

“Well, I won by technicality, so it works out in the end.”

“Um, so when will we go to this forest?” Asia asked.

“Tomorrow, the Forest of Familiars only appears on the night of a full moon, and only one peerage can enter at a time. It’s why we held the contest.”

The club nodded and the others collected their things to go home. Daniel and Asia walked home together, hand in hand.  
\----------------------------------------------  
The next night, the full moon gleamed down on the clubroom as the ORC prepared for their night in the forest. Rias conjured the teleportation circle and the group was whisked away from the mortal realm. 

The club found themselves in a dark forest beneath a blueish-purple swirl that represented the night cycle of Hell. Thankfully the natural night vision let them see clearly despite the darkness. As Daniel and Asia acclimated their senses, Rias, Kiba and Koneko summoned their familiars; they nodded to their masters before scurrying off into the woods. “Um, what was that all about?” Daniel asked.

“Its tradition. Since they spend most of their time in the human world, when we come here we let them have some time-off. It’s their home after all.” Rias explained before a very loud and enthusiastic voice rang out from above.

“AHOY THERE!” The group turned to see a man dressed like a certain trainer of monsters standing heroically on a tree branch. “WELCOME TO THE FAMILIAR FOREST!”

“Rias-san, wh-who’s that” Asia asked nervously, cowering behind Daniel.

“That is Familiar Master Zatouji.” She explained before bowing at the strange man. “A pleasure to see you again, you have my thanks for helping us tonight.”

“Of course Miss Gremory, happy ta help!” Zatouji said, jumping down in front of them and speaking in a less deafening tone. “Now who’s on the market for familiars tonight?”

“Two for my new recruits.” Rias said.

“Understood! Well the, may I interest you in a powerful and elusive Shadow” The man blurred suddenly to Daniel, scaring him and Asia. Apparently the man thought the boy was a familiar. “Void-class, has the special power to steal abilities, decently strong vessel as-” A dark tendril wrapped out the man’s mouth. Daniel sighed in embarrassment. 

“Full disclosure, I’m pretty sure he’s joking…” He said as the man rambled despite his voice being muffled. The tendril dissipated and Zatouji continued. 

“So, any takers? Eh? Eh?” He said, gesturing to him like an auctioneer would to an expensive item. To Daniel’s shock, Asia put her hand up.

“Master Zatouji, that is in fact my precious servant.” Rias said, glaring at Asia to put her hand down. “He may have a shadow based gear, but I don’t think he’s any of what you said.”

“Really? Could’ve sworn…” Zatouji said as he looked over Daniel again. “Oh well. So, what are ya lookin’ for in a familiar? Strong? Fast? Fire?” He said, peppering him and Asia with questions.

“Hmmm, I’d like to see what you would recommend?” Daniel responded. The Master nodded and pulled out a leather-bound catalog. After flipping through some pages he opened one up to reveal a drawing of a black skeleton with three heads and no limbs.

“How about a Wither! Monster from the voids, kills any form of life, mere presence will turn plants into dust!”

“Um, no thanks…” Daniel said nervously.

“Hmmm, then maybe a Brondmand, aka the Well-Man?”

Daniel looked uncomfortable as the Master explained the various horrifying ways it could kill its victims and such.

Asia spoke up. “Um, I just want one that’s cute, is all.” but the man ignored her.

Once Rias managed to get Zatouji to stop talking, the group was led through the forest as the Master pointed out various familiars that Asia or Daniel may be interested in. At one point, the group took a short rest in a clearing that was close to a river. From the water came a greenish slime, which latched itself onto the back of Asia. As the others began panicking, the creature split itself and began clinging to the other girls as the fabric of their uniforms began to be dissolved. Kiba and Daniel quickly turned around to avoid being indecent, while the girls made short work of the slime. Zatouji, who didn’t seem to be surprised, said it was a common occurrence, earning him a punch from an embarrassed Koneko. As the girls went behind some trees to change, the three males sat around waiting.

Daniel felt the sensation of being watched, and turned around. Noticing something in the trees a few feet away, he abruptly stood up. “I need to do something real quick, don’t come looking for me, you’ll know if I’m in trouble” Before Kiba could protest, Daniel jogged into the trees leaving behind the safety of the group. Despite having never traversed the forest before, the calm voice in his head knew where to take him. After a few minutes, he arrived before a sort of sinkhole in the middle of the woods. The hole was overlaid with a dark, shadowy substance similar to his gear and the lack of light made it appear bottomless. Daniel sat at the edge of the hole. “Are you sure about this? They can handle themselves well, plus they already have familiars-”

“ **Do you lack faith in my judgment, Daniel? These will make fine gifts to repay the Gremory Peerage for their cooperation...I shall summon the ones chosen.** ” The voice said, now audible to the outside world. It was calm, patient, yet it made anything nearby stand on edge. Daniel silently agreed.

“Alright, show them to me”

The sinkhole suddenly throbbed and pulsated as if it were being fueled by a beating heart. Shooting out from the inky blackness came several blasts of shadow that landed beside Daniel, unraveling and growing from their transportative forms. The first was a massive panther-like creature, with blade-edged wings on the forearms and a thick, armoured tail that rattles its plates like a rattlesnake. The beast yawned in a cat-like fashion to reveal blunt, bone crushing teeth and sharpened incisors.

The second was a ghostly, translucent arthropod who’s carapace glistened like a starry night sky. Six jointed limbs hung beneath, the first pair tipped with humanoid hands, the rest tapered points. A pair of massive hands with wormy fingers acted as a pair of wings, and it had a large pincer for a tail. A single red eye stares unblinking, and most unusual was the presence of a sexless, headless non-living humanoid body suspended in the creature's body in a praying position.

Third came a spindly, stick-like creature with three arms and a tripod set of legs. Its head was small and streamline, with three sets of mandible-eque jaws that resembled something akin to an insect or carnivorous plant. Two sets of eyes on each side of its head darted their gaze around constantly. It was draped in a thin, dark cloak that shrouded its frame, and it wielded a lantern with a yellow glow along with two blades on its arms.

Next, on the other side of Daniel, was the largest creature, a towering therapod beast. Its head was alien and bizarre, a thin upper jaw with beady eyes and medium sized teeth opposed to a large, more heavy lower jaw lined with large tusks and a clear seam down the middle to indicate it could split. A double row of large defensive spines ran down its back, crackling with electricity akin to a human Tesla Coil. It was stocky yet athletic like the ancient Allosaurus or Giganotosaurus.

Finally, the last to transform, a creature that one could only describe as demonic. It was tall, lanky, so thin and starved looking that ribs showed and the joints could be seen moving under the skin. Long hands tipped with sharp claws hung to its knees. The creature had a humanoid head, but its mouth and jaw were brimming with human molars. Atop its head was a pair of structures one would consider horns. Easily the length of its torso, they glowed red with ancient unholy runes. At their tips was evidence that the horns used to form a full circle, but the top was violently broken off.

Each shadow creature bowed at Daniel’s feet, the Demonic one speaking in a low, rumbly voice, and if a non-devil were listening they would note it’s language to be Hebrew. “ **Vessel, we hath cometh to serve thine Peerage in any way possible, under orders of thy lord. I beeith the Void Devil Yegmorr, a Duke who commandith twenty six legions of shadows. Mine fellow Abyssals beeith Nargacuga the Ferocious, Abathrael the Void Sephiram, Spindlehopper the Swift Light, and the mighty Zilla of Storm** ” The creature stated, gesturing to the others as it spoke of its respective allies.

Daniel nodded. “Thank you, Devil of the Void. The wedding is still in question, and knowing Miss Gremory she will challenge it with a rating game. Still, wait and be ready at a moment’s notice if your help is needed. I assume he has told you which host you all shall take. The Devil nodded.

“ **Each Abyssal knowsith thine own host. We shall take our leave.** ” With that, the five Shadows used their own magic circles, similar to Daniel’s own, to travel into the human world to wait. Daniel stretched and began making his way back to the main group.  
\--------------------------------------------  
Daniel made his way to the last place the group had been, glad to see that they had waited this entire time for him. Upon seeing him step through the trees, Asia tackled-hugged him while crying about how she thought he was dead or something to that effect. Koneko had to nearly pry her off him while Rias and Zatouji gave him a double scolding for doing something so rash and sudden. Once they finished, however, the group did give him a sort of group hug since he was basically unscathed. Daniel didn’t answer their questions, but he did ask about the tiny purple dragon sitting on Asia’s shoulder.

“Sprite Dragon! Just a baby, but it can shoot blue lightning, Adults are the top-tier of normal dragons!” Zatouji explained. On cue, the dragon glared at Daniel and launched a bolt of electricity at him with a loud buzz. Daniel was charred and smoking from the attack, but managed to stay on his feet. “Oh, and the males hate males from other races, heh!” The Master explained, before looking into the sky. “I’m afraid our time has come to an end for tonight. Apologies for not getting ya a familiar as well, kid” He said to Daniel

Daniel brushed off the ash and smiled. “No worries, I think I’ll be fine without one”

The club waved goodbye to the Familiar Master, gathered the other familiars and returned back to the human world. Zatouji kept a grin until the group disappeared before frowning. With the skill and grace of a new-world primate, he dashed through the trees until he found himself at the same black pit Daniel was earlier. He landed at the edge and knelt to the ground at the footprints left in the dirt. “I knew there was more to that boy...this will be interesting to hear about”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Credit to Bogleech for inspiring the design of Abathrael. Nargacuga's name and design are properties of Monster Hunter and Capcom.


	7. Cold Turkey, Hot Chicken

_DING, DING, DING_   
_DING, DING, DING_

Daniel jolted at the sounds of massive bells ringing above him. Based on the amount of people and the location of a demonic church, he assumed this was some sort of fancy devil wedding. Didn’t explain the tuxedo he wore that was decorated with symbols of forgotten languages and runes. 

“Daniel!” He turned to the sound of his sister’s voice, who was standing with his parents. His mother was dressed in a fiery red gown, his father a suit with the texture of mist, and his sister a fancy pink gown. “Proud of you bro, go make me some nieces and nephews!” She shouted, giving him a thumbs up.

“Wait, this is for ME?” He shouted, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on.

“Of course, honey~ Who else would it be for?” A feminine voice said to his side. Daniel turned and was faced with a sight to behold. There stood Rias, in a crisp white wedding gown, veil and all, which exaggerated her figure. A bouquet of roses was in her hands. For one of the very few times in his life, he blushed heavily.

( _Excuse my entire fucking soul,but what in the fresh **fuck**??_) Daniel thought as she wrapped her arm around his and began walking down the aisle. The couple entered the church and were greeted by a cacophony of shouts and cries, some supportive, some not-so-much. He could feel his head throbbing from the amount of noise. As they approached the altar, he noticed some more details. First, the wedding cake was white and green with various black decorative symbols, which he had to admit looked really damn good. Next was the less fun realization that bodies of Raynare and Viser were dangling from chains on the ceiling acting as chandeliers. Finally, the priest was a chained Freed Sellzen, for some god-forsaken reason. 

As the mad priest began the vows and what-not (adding in curses of course), Daniel began to contemplate how he got to this damn point, when the realization hit him. Before he could act, Freed broke his train of thought. “So, do you, slutty fucking Rias Gremory trash, take this pussy devil to be your shameful fucking husband”

“I do” She said, unfazed by his words

“And do you, pathetic maggot scum of hell, take this demonic whore to be your shitty cucking wife?!”

“...I do,” He said, best not test those restraints on Freed if he said anything else.

“Kiss the fucking bitch now!”

As Rias began to lean in for the kiss, Daniel held up his hand and scowled. “Ok, you’ve had your fun, can I have a fucking normal dream now”

Rias glared but put her hands to the top of her head and ripped it like fabric to reveal a shadow-formed figure in a cowboy hat and red eyes, the scenery fading into nothingness. “ **Your subconscious does half the work for me, Daniel.** ” It said , grinning with a set of perfectly white teeth. “ **Shall we do the usual then?** ”

“Please...I need a break from this chaos for a moment”

The figure rolled its eyes and waved its hand, a new scenery forming around them. It was arid desert, somewhere in the American Badlands, and Daniel was dressed in an outdoorsy, desert suited outfit. In his hand was a case that he knew held several brushes, chisels and hammers. The area was rocky, dry, and from the ground stuck out the fossilized remains of various prehistoric species. Daniel quickly set to work, heading to the closest skeleton and getting out his tools for excavation. For a good while, he worked silently, feeling neither fatigue nor heat as he carefully uncovered the remains inch by inch. The shadow stood nearby, seemingly absorbing the light of the sun around him. Daniel finally spoke up.

“So...that Familiar Master. He knew the truth.”

“ **I would be lying if I said I wasn’t impressed. For a senile fool, he has a surprising knowledge on the workings of the void.** ”

“Yeah, bet he investigated your bottomless pit after we left”

“ **He is there as we speak. The aura of the Abyssals was strong.** ”

“I still think it's too early to bring such things into the mortal realms.”

“ **Riser is learning quickly about the Boosted Gear, this is a needed precaution in case he proves a true threat.** ”

“As for Rias? I know she suspects something about us...that Void Beast stunt set off red flags.”

“ **The price of power, but it proved we are not just a lowly devil servant.** ”

“So what's the plan now?”

“ **Riser prepares to meet with Gremory to display his new power. Should the Crimson Princess challenge him to a Rating Game, we will hold back. Otherwise, we go full force with the extraction.** ”

“Got it…” He said. Daniel stopped to admire his work, having managed to fully expose the bones of a decently sized Allosaurus. He wiped his brow and turned to the Shadow. “I’m ready to wake up”

“ **Until we speak again, my vessel.** ”  
\----------------------------------------------------------  
The next day, Daniel and Asia arrived at the clubroom for lunch, the rest of the club already gathered together. The two sat at one of the couches, getting out their respective meals prepared by Daniel’s mother.

“So, Asia, how has it been living with Daniel and his family?” Kiba asked through bites of his meal.

“It’s been wonderful, Sarah-sama is very sweet and understanding. I think we’re becoming very good friends!” She said. Daniel grinned.

“To quote my own sister, “If anything were to happen to Asia, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself”.” Kiba gave him a very concerned look. “It's a meme Kiba, you absolute normie.”

“Normie???”

“He's right, you know.” Koneko said, prompting Kiba to look betrayed as the others laughed.

“Never took you for a memer Koneko, you’ve been holding out on us” Daniel managed to collect his breath to speak again.

“You never asked” Koneko deadpanned again, eating her mochi.

“Fair enough. Anyways, saw the Perv Duo get their ass handed to them by the Kendo Club again. Serves them right, dirty bastards.”

“Ara, so aggressive about them. Did they _bleed_?” Akeno had a sadistic gleam in her eye that made Asia nervous. Daniel chuckled.

“Not today. Just some hard bruises, wooden katanas look painful”

Akeno giggled at the thought. Daniel noticed that Rias didn’t say anything to Akeno, and stood up.

“Rias, you there? Normally you’d say something about now.” The other looked to Rias with concern. The crimson girl was wearing a blank expression, staring forward into space. Daniel waved his hand in front of her, trying to snap her out of it. “Earth to Rias, Ground Control to Major Tom, hellooooo?” He kept saying. Rias suddenly jolted back into reality and turned to Daniel.

“Oh, sorry, spaced out there for a moment” She smiled, Daniel’s worried expression didn’t change.

“Are you sure, you’ve never been like this before as far as I can remember”

“Trust me, Daniel-San, I’m fine.”

Daniel knew this was about him, but kept his mouth shut about it. Now was not the time to make them suspicious.

The club continued chatting and having fun, even as Rias spent most of her time out of the way. Soon, the bell rang for class again, and the young devils said their goodbyes and left to continue the school day. Rias stayed behind, thinking about what Daniel had said to her. The glow of a teleportation circle alerted her as someone entered the room. Rias frowned, she had been dreading this…  
\------------------------------------  
That evening, Daniel went straight into his room and kicked on the air conditioner. He was in need for a relaxing night, so he sat down in his bed, opened his phone and began listening to some music on his headphones. In the dimly lit room, he felt peaceful, even the call of the void quiet as the music played. It was a rare moment for him nowadays, to have this time to himself

The moment ended as a crimson glow engulfed the room, making Daniel shut off his music and grumbling in annoyance. Judging by the symbol, a Gremory was visiting him, and sure enough Rias appeared in the room. Her expression was serious, almost blank, and Daniel replaced his frustration with worry. “Miss Rias?”

“Daniel…” She said, pushing her hair from her face as a look of desperation clouded her eyes. Daniel guessed something with Riser had sent her into distress. It did not, however, prepare him for her next words. “I want you to make love to me.”

“...what?”

“I said I want you to take my virginity” She said in a commanding tone, beginning to undress from her uniform. In record time, he formed a thin sheet of shadow which he quickly wrapped around her before beginning to sputter.

“Rias Gremory, as flattered as I am and as much of a man I am, you appear to have lost your _entire fucking mind._ ” He said, almost scolding her for trying to have intercourse with him. She looked up with hurt.

“...Am I not good enough for you?”

“On the contrary, but we’ll focus on my self-depreciation later, what the fuck brought this up!?” His face, for once, was slowly turning red as his brain ran a hundred miles a minute.

“I've been thinking a lot as of late, and I’ve decided that this is the only option there is.” Rias explained, holding the cloak while blushing. “If there is evidence, then they can’t complain about it. The only boy close to me who can do it is you.”

“Again, flattered, but I’m probably one of the worst choices for this. Why me out of the others?”

“Yuuto is too pure and chivalrous to attempt such an act, and Gasper is much the same. That only leaves you.” With that, she began trying to push him onto the bed, but his own strength held her back.

“Kiba showed you what I did to the priests. I’ve been self loathing, a proper geek, and an underwhelming servant. I am unfit for even a damn kiss, let alone sex.”

“No you aren’t! I’ll show it to you, we can take our first time slow.” She cried, pushing on him.

“Rias, this isn’t you! Are you absolutely sure you want this?” He said, channeling the shadows to his arms to hold strong.

“Of course I do! There’s no one else I can do it with!” She shouted at him, making him nervous that his parents might burst in. “The one I want right now is you! There’s no other way!”

“What do you _mean_??”

Before she could respond, another crimson flash startled the two causing them to release each other and stand, the cloak still covering Rias. As the light died down, Daniel sensed a more strong aura and audibly gulped.

Before them stood an attractive, motherly woman with long silver hair and red eyes. Her hair was a long braid on each side with small blue bows at the ends, while the rest was let down which ended in twin braids. Her attire was a white and blue French Maid outfit with an accompanying headdress on top. Her lips were adorned with red lipstick. A look of disappointment stared down Rias with such authority that Daniel had only seen in his mother a few times. “Milady, are you attempting to break off the engagement by doing something like this?” She asked curtly

“Well this is a goddamn bitch of an unfortunate situation” Daniel said under his breath.

Rias frowned at the lady. “Neither my father nor Sirzechs will listen to me. This was the only way to get them to notice.”

The woman kept her look, before looking over at Daniel with disdain. “So you decided to give your purity to this...lowlife?” She said, making him irk in annoyance.

“Did you expect me to grovel at your feet for mercy? I’m no blind follower of anyone with a title.” He said, crossing his arms and huffing in offense.

Rias felt the same way. “Who I give my virtue to is mine to do with as I please. How is it wrong to give it to whomever I want?” She said, her frown hardening. “And I would like it if you gave a bit more respect to my servant, Grayfia, no matter your status”.

Grayfia, as she was now known as, sighed and began picking up Rias’s discarded clothes. “Noted. Remember you're the next heiress to the house of Gremory. So please, do not display your skin to man so recklessly.” She said as she folded the Kuoh uniform neatly in her hands. The maid turned to Daniel now, her expression softer. “Pardon the interruption, my name is Grayfia Lucifuge, another servant of the House of Gremory. We’ll get out of your way soon.”

Daniel nodded. “No problem, Miss Grayfia.” Rias moved next to him.

“I’m sorry about all this, Daniel. I wasn’t in my right mind tonight. Let’s just forget about this...”

“Understood.”

“Daniel? So this is him?” Grayfia echosed her words with curiosity.

“Yes, he is my pawn.” Rias responded, finally moving off the bed, still holding the cloak.

“Your gear is most interesting, Mr. Retsalreve. As is your family name…” She said, with both amazement and knowing. Daniel felt exposed under her gaze, as if he were a field mouse under the gaze of a hawk. In return he gave a look that silently warned her against saying anything incriminating. Fortunately, she seemed to get the message.

“We will speak more at my headquarters. You won’t mind if Akeno joins us?” Rias declared, standing proud against the maid. Grayfia smiled.

“The Priestess of Thunder? Of course I don’t mind. It is proper for a royal devil to have her Queen by her side in times like these.”

Rias turned and quickly gave Daniel a kiss on the cheek. “Consider that my apology for troubling you, Daniel. Meet up at the club room tomorrow and I shall explain everything.” After the farewell, she moved next to Grayfia. The pair were teleported away by a magic circle, leaving Daniel alone again. He laid back down on the bed.

“We may need a new plan…”  
\----------------------------------------------------  
The next day, Daniel and the rest of the club met up to head to the ORC building for the meeting. They had all received a notice saying to meet there after class had ended. Daniel and Asia had met up with Kiba to head over once school was let out for the day.

“You’re right, something has been bugging her.” Kiba said in response to Asia’s worries about Rias. “If I had to guess, i’d say it's household rivalry drama”

“You think Akeno might know” Daniel said, acting dumb about the situation a bit.

“She is her right hand lady, so if anyone would know, it's her.” Kiba suddenly stopped in his tracks with a frown. “There is one thing I can think of that would upset her, and it’s pretty bad news…”

The three entered the clubroom, finding everyone in the room. Rias sat at her desk, with a grim look on her face and folded arms, a far cry from her usual self. Koneko sat on a couch silently enjoying an ice pop. Grayfia and Akeno stood near Rias, the maid still stoic as last night. 

“Looks like everyone’s here. Good” Rias said, her tone snappy and almost annoyed.

“Milady, if you don’t mind, may I have your permission to speak up?” Grayfia asked. Rias held up her hand as she got up.

Before she could speak, a large reddish-orange magic circle appeared in the clubroom near the door. Kiba, Asia and Daniel quickly moved to the side, as flames and hellish screams came from the sigl on the floor. Daniel recognized the particular symbol and felt himself tense. From the center of the flames stood a man in his early twenties with blonde hair and a red suit. 

“Phenex…” Daniel muttered.

“Ah, and Riser has arrived in the human realm!” Riser Phenex declared, turning around to face the group. A tall handsome man with dark blue eyes and blonde hair, radiating arrogance and having a playboy attitude, it made Daniel’s skin crawl. “I’ve come all this way to see you my dear Rias”

Rias glared at him. “Lovely…” her words were sharp as steel, and made Asia and Daniel a little surprised. Daniel had only been near him for seconds and he already despised the man. He gritted his teeth and put on a smile.

“Miss Rias, aren’t male strippers reserved for the bachelorette party?” He said. Asia and Kiba bit their tongues to keep from laughing. Koneko let a smile creep onto her face and Akeno giggled quietly. Riser shot a glare at him.

“How dare you?” He hissed. “Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?”

“Of course, Mr Phenex. No shame in making a little money on the side, times are hard.” He smirked at the man who looked ready to kill him.

“Please allow me to introduce to you Riser Phenex” Grayfia interrupted the two, gesturing at Riser. “He is the third son of the House of Phenex of the 72 Pillars and Lady Rias’s fiance”

Daniel nodded. He didn’t need the void to tell him that Rias was clearly not consenting to this marriage. Unfortunately it didn’t seem to have stopped Riser or the Gremory Household  
\------------------------------  
“Hm...lovely.” Riser smiled in bliss after sipping the teacup. “The tea prepared by my Rias’s queen is the most delicious.” Akeno bowed in gratitude. Riser was sitting on the couch, one arm around Rias against her will. Clearly she did not enjoy this. The others sat across from the pair, Daniel nearly trembling in anger at Riser’s mannerisms. He especially did not like the way his hands wandered her body in such a disrespectful manner. Rias suddenly stood up from his grasp.

“That’s enough, Riser. Let it go.” She said, bluntly. “Why don’t you understand? I have no intention of ever marrying you.”

“But my darling, Riser believes your family’s circumstances are still such that you cannot afford so much”

“I will not bring my family to ruin!” Rias snapped at him. “I have no intention of denying you the right to our name, but let me be clear my husband will be my choice”

“Remember, it is imperative for devils to remain pure. We are still recovering our numbers from the last war. Both your father and Sirzechs decided on this arrangement for the future of devils in mind”

“Ahem. May I speak” Daniel said suddenly. Riser moved to respond but Rias cut him off

“Yes you may.” Daniel nodded and gestured to Rias.

“This is Rias.”

“Yes,” Riser said, confused by what he was doing.

“And she does not want to get married to someone.”

“Correct, but-”

“And since she is a free thinking person of her own will, she should be allowed to choose whether she wishes to marry.”

“That makes sense to me, yet-”

“So then. _Leave. Her. Alone._ ” Daniel leaned into Riser with each word he emphasized, growling under his breath. He went back to sit again across from them.

“See? So for the last time Riser, I will not marry you!” Rias added on. Riser suddenly stood up and held her chin, tilting her face to his.

“And for the last time Rias, Riser bears the reputation of the House of Phenex. Besmirching our good name is unacceptable”. He turned to his left arm. “Maybe this shall change your mind.” A green flash came from his arm as a crimson and yellow draconic gauntlet appeared on his arm. A voice rang out that said, “BOOST”. Everyone besides Daniel gasped.

“Lord Riser, is that…?” Grayfia’s voice trailed off.

“Yes, it is the Boosted Gear, the gear that holds the power of the Red Dragon Emperor. A friend of mine gifted this to me as an early wedding present.” He said smugly. Daniel knew the truth but kept quiet.

“That was not known to me, who did you kill to get it?” Rias said, separating from Riser’s grip and accusing him.

“It was a present, my dear. No one died for it” Riser said.

“You, my friend, are not worthy of such an item.” Daniel said again without warning. Riser glared at him.

“And who are you to criticize Riser?”

“Who are you to threaten me?”

“Enough” Grayfia declared, emanating a threatening aura that made Daniel stand on edge. The two devils obliged without incident the maid’s own aura overshadowing either of theirs. Daniel felt a chill hit the room from Grayfia’s icy glare. “Neither you two nor you and Lady Rias are to incite violence. And I am not holding back if you disobey again. Am I clear?”

The two silently nodded. “Pissing off the Silver-Haired Queen of Annihilation is not on my bucket list yet.” Daniel said quietly.

“Now, Sirzechs foresaw such quarrels and has assigned me to propose an alternative solution.”

Rias’s and Riser’s eyes widened. “Alternate solution... you don’t mean?” Rais said.

The maid nodded. “Yes. An unofficial Rating Game shall be held between Lady Rias’s peerage and Lord Riser’s peerage. If Rias wins, the wedding shall be called off, and if Riser wins, the wedding shall continue.”

Rias frowned. “Not what I had in mind for an alternative...”

Riser, however, confidently laughed. “Riser has played through numerous Rating Games and has scored several for himself. Unfortunately my inexperienced bride has never even qualified for an official game” The smug aura made Rias and Daniel boil with anger.

“I accept your challenge if only to wipe that look off your face.” Rias said, sneering at him. 

Grayfia nodded at that. “I shall inform Sirzechs at once.”

Riser turned to glance at the ORC before him. “Rias, I have to ask. Is this adorable group the extent of your servants? They’re all you have?”

“And so what of it?” Rias snapped.

The Phenex laughed again and snapped his fingers. Another Phenex magic circle appeared in the room, same as before, but now within it stood a large group of 15 highly attractive women wearing outfits of an exotic nature that seemed to fulfill every possible ‘type’ of romantic partner. “Riser has 15 pieces” He boasted, gesturing to the group of women. “In other words, I have a complete set.”

( _You weren’t kidding about the harem…_ ) Daniel thought to himself as he took in the group before him. Each outfit was lavish and dazzling, varying from athletic clothes to maid dresses to kimonos and more. One girl with the same hair and eye color as Riser in a pink princess gown appeared to be Ravel Phenex, Riser’s sister.

Riser smirked at them. “Do you honestly think your weak little servants would ever stand a chance against me?”

She returned a hateful glare at him. “If you insinuate that my peerage is weak, I’ll-”

“Do what?” He mocked back at her. “Make die of boredom? I have never lost a Rating Game. Except for your beautiful Queen, all I see is an innocent girl with no ounce of strength, a homosexual pretty boy, an easily angered pawn and a flat-chested loli” Koneko cast her gaze down to her chest with a look of extreme hurt. “None can compare to my servants.”

“Do not disrespect my family Riser! I have no tolerance for such actions!” Rias screamed.

“Family? The Gremory compassion and kindness to those below them runs strong with you. Very well. Once we are married, your two boys shall work as slaves, and the girls...I would enjoy a nice variety to my sexual life.”

The call of the void, that which held Daniel’s growing rage from calling down judgement upon Phenex so early, felt that even now Riser went too far. The thought of his friends, of pure and caring Asia, of strong willed Koneko, of Akeno and Rias, all at the feet of this prick...An unholy, nay, an _abyssal_ rage spiked in Daniel’s blood. 

He was not alone. Every woman, even Grayfia, looked disgusted at him, and even Riser’s own held an unamused look. Kiba looked ready to pull his sword. But Daniel was going to beat him to the punch. 

Riser turned and saw the fury in Daniel’s eyes. “I seem to have offended you somehow, Pawn. Should you like, I would gladly kill you in the Rating Game-” Rias opened her mouth to retort, when she froze as a shadowy, black appendage shot at Riser’s throat. The high-class devil had no time to react as it yanked him to his knees and dragged him before a murderous Daniel, his entire head coated in darkness as red eyes glared holes into him.

“Wh-what...are you?” Riser wheezed in the vice-like grasp.

“ **I am a monument...to all your sins** ” Daniel responded, the voidal voice returned in his voice. Everyone in the room was shocked, Rias nearly petrified from surprise and oddly gratitude. Grayfia felt herself recognize that voice, and it made her feel uneasy. Akeno could barely contain her arousal at the very sadistic display. Riser looked into the red pits of Daniel’s eyes and saw his death a hundred times over. 

Daniel released him, the Phenex gasping for air, and returned to a collected state. Grayfia cleared her throat to ease the tension. “Mr Retsalreve, I would request that you refrain from harming Lord Riser until the Rating Game, please.”

“Apologies, Miss Grayfia, my rage had gotten the better of me” He said politely, bowing to her before looking down at Riser still wheezing. “How many days until the game, my Lord.” He said with malice.

“10 days...before I make you regret that” He said, voice hoarse from the grip. He got up and stumbled into the arms of his Queen Yubelluna. Ravel shot Daniel a death glare that almost made him laugh.

“Very well then.” Grayfia interjected again. “Lady Rias do you accept this time?”

“Yes, thank you Grayfia” Rias said, still reeling from Daniel’s display.

“It is done, the details shall be sent to you two shortly.”

“My victory is assured anyways…” Riser coughed out, still face planted into his Queen’s torso. With a weak snap of his fingers, the magic circle appeared again and the entire group teleported away. With a bow, Grayfia too teleported away to report to Rias’s older brother.

There was a moment of silence, before Rias burst into girlish laughter. The club stared at her like she was having a stroke as Rias fell to the floor clutching her stomach and nearly crying from laughing. Soon Akeno joined in with very unnaturally light-hearted laughter, Kiba trying to save face but failing and even Koneko cracking a smile. Daniel looked terribly confused.

“Um...the fuck?”

“Oh by Hell!...Holy shit, Daniel, that was the best thing I’ve ever seen! Thank you!”Rias said with pure joy. “The look on his face! I can’t- It was too good!” She said between breaths.

“I mean, I just got really damn pissed at him…”

“Yeah but I swear he pissed himself when you did that!” Kiba said, leaning against the couch. Akeno managed to collect her own breath and put on a seductive look with difficulty.

“Ara, that was easily the hottest thing I’ve seen you do” She said with a big wink. Asia felt the sting of jealousy hit her with that, for some odd reason. Daniel rolled his eyes at Akeno. Rias finally got up from the floor, breathing heavily and collecting herself.

“So...we have ten days to train for the Rating Game. Riser may be a selfish prick, but he wasn’t kidding about his winning streak. Akeno and I shall prepare a venue to prepare. Everyone head home tonight, tomorrow we begin!” Rias said, motivating the others. They pumped their fists into the air like this was the scene before the Big Game in a teen sports movie.


End file.
